Gulbahar Bano's talent recognised

Included in this year's list of recipients of the coveted medal of :pride of Performance is the name of Gulbahar Bano, whose talent for excelling in singing ghazals and geets has been recognised at the highest State level. If my memory serves me right, she has in the past received awards from art promoting associations and Pakistan Television.
Recognition of talent at the highest level serves as a great booster of morale of the artistes motivating them to work hard in their chose field of creative endeavours.
The Pride of Performance medal carries a sum of Rs 300,000. Although money means a lot in this age of ever-rising prices of essential items of daily use yet it is not the money alone, which brings glad tidings to the artistes. It is the joy of winning recognition of his/her talent from the Head of State that inspires an artiste much.
For over twenty years Gulbahar Bano, a trained singer has impressed radio listeners and television audiences with her ebullient talent and a number of videocassettes and CDs have been issued, which contains her music. Since its inception, the Shalimar Recording Company (SRC) has marketed a large number of audio and videocassettes containing songs and ghazals rendered by ranking vocalists of the country, including Gulbahar Bano.
The list of SRC recordings is quite impressive and it includes names of such accomplished and seasoned vocalists as Mehdi Hasan, Iqbal Bano, Hamid Ali Khan, Hamid Ali Bela besides a number of up-and-coming crooners. This week the column focuses on the of a cassette titled 'Dard', which contains twelve ghazals written by a few seasoned poets as well as some lesser-known-practitioners of this enchanting literary genre and recorded in the tuneful voice of Gulbahar Bano.
The blurb on flap of the cassette lists poets Nasir Kazmi (2), Ahmad Faraz (1) and Saba Akbarabadi (1) among the most popular ghazal writers of Pakistan, and Ghos Mithrvi, Nadeem Ahmad, Haq Nawaz Akhtar, S.M.Waseem, Sabir Zafar, Zahur Aafaq and Azmat Qaiser, who have contributed one ghazal each to the cassette. Melodic raiment for these numbers were provided by inveterate composer Niaz Ahmad, whose photograph also appears on the cover of the cassette
I don't remember the exact date of Gulbahar Bano's debut-making telecast on PTV, but I do recall the ghazal- 'Ishq mein kaisi majboori'-, which she feelingly rendered in an episode of the then Silver Jubilee stage show about a couple of decades ago. It was telecast from Karachi Centre of Pakistan Television. Composed in the strand of raga Darbari, the ghazal clicked almost instantly, and created an enduring impact on millions of televiewers in the country.
The art of ghazal singing in its modern style is quite difficult to master. In addition to a gifted voice with ebullient sonic qualities, and substantive training in the art of vocalisation under the supervision of accomplished maestro, a singer also needs a bit of good luck. This factor contributes to the instant clicking and popularity of budding artistes, and also in the shaping of their destiny.
Contemporary melodic scene in Pakistan is replete with many instances when a number of young singers won immense popularity so soon after making their debuts in the world of entertainment. The Bahawalpur-born Gulbahar Bano is one shining example of this phenomenon, whose first rendition of a ghazal on the mini screen paved the way for her meteoric rise to fame.
Gifted with a rich, cultured and malleable voice, Gulbahar Bano has now become a familiar name in the world of entertainment. She is frequently invited to participate in concerts organised by art-promoting organisations in different cities, and by the official electronic media - radio and television - to broadcast her songs for the listening pleasure of the viewers and listeners of radio music programmes.
She feels equally at ease while singing geet-oriented ghazals, composed by musicians as also geets, folk songs and kafis coming down from generations to generations. This bespeaks of her intensive training in the fundamentals of classical music, the culturing of her voice and her penchant for different modes of melodic expression in the light vocal varieties.
Gulbahar Bano during the past couple of decades has recorded a number of her popular songs included in several audiocassettes released in recent years by commercial recording companies. Seemingly well-aware of the true meaning and import of ghazals included in her repertoire. Gulbahar Bano allows herself the freedom of getting sucked in the maelstrom of a congenial mood, so necessary for conveying their lyrical contents. In this manner, she establishes a quick rapport with her audiences
I remember watching a TV programme in which she talked about her early training in music, including a tryst with semi-classical modes - thumri and dadra. Persisting with her Daily Riaz (training) under the supervision of her mentor Afzal Khan for several years and backed by her strong proclivity for melodic arts. Gulbahar has succeeded in chiselling her melodic personality, giving it a distinct identity of its own. In the short span of one decade, she joined the ranks of frontline singers of Pakistan , who can practice several different modes of melodic expression.
The most important quality of a vocalist, whether he/she is a practitioner of classical music, or of light genres, is the tunefulness of his/her voice, for it is only the correct intonation of melodic notes that quickly penetrates the hearts of the listeners. If a singer does not possess mellifluous voice, she may be able to perform but will certainly fail in winning appreciation of the listeners.
Gulbahar Bano possesses a resonant voice, which quickly attracts the attention of her audiences. The open-throat-manner of voice production, by which she keeps the volume of her vocals at a sustained level, precludes the unintentional use of a discordant note during her presentations. This is an invaluable asset with which not many contemporary vocalists are endowed by nature.
A majority of ghazal singers croons only those ghazals for which melodic raiment are provided by professionally competent composers. The impact of a good composition, it may be mentioned, gets cancelled by poor rendition of a vocalist. By the same token, a composition of a pedestrian kind can be converted into an enjoyable listening experience by a seasoned vocalist through his/her tuneful rendition. Gulbahar Bano possesses the desired vocal resources and the expertise to enliven even a mediocre composition to become an absorbing piece of singing.