Alamgir (pop singer)
Encyclopedia
Alamgir is a Pakistan
i pop singer of the 1970s, who is in fact one of the pioneers of the Urdu
pop music in Pakistan. His style of singing is inspired by legendary playback singer
Ahmed Rushdi
.
(modern-day Bangladesh
) into a Bengali
family. His father Farmuzal Haq was a politician, and part of the "All India Muslim League"; a political party in British India that developed into the driving force behind the creation of Pakistan as a Muslim state on the Indian subcontinent. He studied in Mirzapur Cadet College
, Tangail, East Pakistan. He briefly studied in B A F Shaheen College
, Dhaka, East Pakistan. At the age of around 15, he moved to Karachi
, West Pakistan
in search of a future in the music industry. He had brought nothing else with him but a guitar and a passion to sing.
He settled in the PECHS area of Karachi and started singing in the evenings at a small cafe called “Cafe D Khan” on Tariq Road. He would not get paid for his gig, but did get a free meal each day. The cafe was famous for its intellectual gatherings and that is where he was spotted. His remuneration was a free meal at the hotel.Someone from the audience in the hotel liked his Guitar playing and told him about the programme at the TV station called Ferozan where Khushbakht Aliya was conducting a show for the youth. He gave his audition, Khushbakht liked his Guitar playing but she had already selected someone else. It just so happened that Sohail Rana
, the music director was in the next studio and asked someone to call Alamgir to his car outside the TV station. He said, he liked his (Alamgir's) playing and asked if he would like to perform for children. This is how he entered in the formal world of Music.
He started singing on the Pakistani Television at the beginning of the 1970s when the people in Pakistan were not familiar with the modern Urdu music and when western music was generally considered as modern music in Pakistan. Shair Siddiqui's songs for the first pop musical program ‘SUNDAY KE SUNDAY’ series of Karachi Television in 1973/74 and introduced Alamgir with the song ‘ALBELA RAHI’.
Albela Rahi, was an Urdu translation of a Spanish song "Guantanamera". It proved a hit in 1973 among the youth of the 70’s. There was a time during the 70’s when the music loving boys and girls gathered regularly on the streets near the Karachi Jheel Park to get a glimpse of this pop singer as he used to travel along in his red sedan in evening. Alamgir’s second pop song Pyar hai zindagi ka gehna was also an Urdu translation of a foreign song. He soon became popular among the younger generation in the country. Alamgir is also known for his many renditions of Bengali music. The most notable Bengali song he is known to sing is Aamay Bhashaili Rey.
Alamgir made a dash on the Pakistani music scene. He sang for the Pakistani television in the very beginning of his career but later as the time passed he started singing for the Pakistani music industry. He also performs abroad. Alamgir has polycystic kidney disease, undergoes dialysis three times per week and requires a kidney transplant. He currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He is respected by the music lovers everywhere and still performs in live concerts in America.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i pop singer of the 1970s, who is in fact one of the pioneers of the Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
pop music in Pakistan. His style of singing is inspired by legendary playback singer
Playback singer
A playback singer is a singer whose singing is prerecorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras, while the actual singer does not appear on screen.-South Asia:...
Ahmed Rushdi
Ahmed Rushdi
Ahmed Rushdi, SI, PP was a versatile Pakistani playback singer who worked in film music and was "an important contributor to the Golden Age of Pakistani film music." Rushdi is acclaimed as one of the greatest singers ever lived in south asia and was a natural baritone, yet could sing high tenor...
.
Life & career
Alamgir was born in 1954, in East PakistanEast Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
(modern-day Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
) into a Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
family. His father Farmuzal Haq was a politician, and part of the "All India Muslim League"; a political party in British India that developed into the driving force behind the creation of Pakistan as a Muslim state on the Indian subcontinent. He studied in Mirzapur Cadet College
Mirzapur Cadet College
Mirzapur Cadet College is the third oldest and one of the very best cadet colleges of Bangladesh. Like other cadet colleges it follows the national curriculum prescribed by the National Curriculum and Textbook Board and gives special emphasis on extracurricular and co-curricular...
, Tangail, East Pakistan. He briefly studied in B A F Shaheen College
B A F Shaheen College
Bangladesh Air Force's Shaheen College, or B A F Shaheen College, is a privatized educational institution run by Bangladesh Air Force; and has the largest primary, secondary and higher secondary student population in Bangladesh.-History:...
, Dhaka, East Pakistan. At the age of around 15, he moved to Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, West Pakistan
West Pakistan
West Pakistan , common name West-Pakistan , in the period between its establishment on 22 November 1955 to disintegration on December 16, 1971. This period, during which, Pakistan was divided, ended when East-Pakistan was disintegrated and succeeded to become which is now what is known as Bangladesh...
in search of a future in the music industry. He had brought nothing else with him but a guitar and a passion to sing.
He settled in the PECHS area of Karachi and started singing in the evenings at a small cafe called “Cafe D Khan” on Tariq Road. He would not get paid for his gig, but did get a free meal each day. The cafe was famous for its intellectual gatherings and that is where he was spotted. His remuneration was a free meal at the hotel.Someone from the audience in the hotel liked his Guitar playing and told him about the programme at the TV station called Ferozan where Khushbakht Aliya was conducting a show for the youth. He gave his audition, Khushbakht liked his Guitar playing but she had already selected someone else. It just so happened that Sohail Rana
Sohail Rana
Sohail Rana is a Pakistani music composer for films. He was introduced by actor Waheed Murad in Pakistan film industry and gained popularity when singer Ahmed Rushdi sang his compositions in such films like Arman and Doraha. He is now based in Canada.-Early Life and career:Sohail Rana was born in...
, the music director was in the next studio and asked someone to call Alamgir to his car outside the TV station. He said, he liked his (Alamgir's) playing and asked if he would like to perform for children. This is how he entered in the formal world of Music.
He started singing on the Pakistani Television at the beginning of the 1970s when the people in Pakistan were not familiar with the modern Urdu music and when western music was generally considered as modern music in Pakistan. Shair Siddiqui's songs for the first pop musical program ‘SUNDAY KE SUNDAY’ series of Karachi Television in 1973/74 and introduced Alamgir with the song ‘ALBELA RAHI’.
Albela Rahi, was an Urdu translation of a Spanish song "Guantanamera". It proved a hit in 1973 among the youth of the 70’s. There was a time during the 70’s when the music loving boys and girls gathered regularly on the streets near the Karachi Jheel Park to get a glimpse of this pop singer as he used to travel along in his red sedan in evening. Alamgir’s second pop song Pyar hai zindagi ka gehna was also an Urdu translation of a foreign song. He soon became popular among the younger generation in the country. Alamgir is also known for his many renditions of Bengali music. The most notable Bengali song he is known to sing is Aamay Bhashaili Rey.
Alamgir made a dash on the Pakistani music scene. He sang for the Pakistani television in the very beginning of his career but later as the time passed he started singing for the Pakistani music industry. He also performs abroad. Alamgir has polycystic kidney disease, undergoes dialysis three times per week and requires a kidney transplant. He currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He is respected by the music lovers everywhere and still performs in live concerts in America.
Albums
- AainaAaina (album)Aaina is a musical album produced by Pakistani musician and singer, Alamgir from the soundtrack of the first ground-breaking and the longest running Urdu-language Pakistani movie of the same name in 1976...
- Hum Sab Ka PakistanHum Sab Ka PakistanSab Ka Pakistan is a Pakistani patriotic album produced by Pakistani pop singer, Alamgir.-Track listing:#"Ae Mard"-e-Mujahid Jaag#"Ae Quaid"-e-Azam Tera#"Ae Rah"-e-Haq Kay#"Ae Watan Hum Hain Teri"#"Ae Watan Pak Watan"#"Apni Jaan Nazar Karon"...
- Best of Alamgir Vol 1
- Best of Alamgir Vol 2
- Heart Beat 1992