Renowned India-born ghazal singer Iqbal Bano dead

Lahore, April 21: Renowned India-born ghazal and classical singer Iqbal Bano, who was a household name in Pakistan, died here today after a brief illness. She was 74.Bano, who was born in Delhi in 1935, studied under Ustad Chand Khan of the Delhi gharana who was an expert in classical and light classical vocal music.

At a young age, she performed on All India Radio and later Radio Pakistan. She made her debut at a public concert at the Lahore Arts Council in 1957. Iqbal Bano was considered a specialist in singing the poems of Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Once when Faiz was imprisoned by the government, she roused a crowd of some 50,000 people in Lahore by singing his poem "Hum Dekhenge". Though she was basically a ghazal singer, Iqbal Bano also performed many songs for Pakistani films, including "Gumnaam" (1954), "Qatil" (1955), "Sarfarosh" (1956) and "Nagin" (1959). She was awarded Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Pride of Performance) medal in 1974 for her contribution to Pakistani music. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani expressed grief at the death of the singer. Zardari said in a message that her services in the realm of ghazal singing and her contribution to classical music will be remembered for long. Gilani lauded Bano`s contributions over the decades for promoting classical music in the country. Bureau Report