Malika Pukhraj remembered

The 9th death anniversary of great legendary classical musician and singer Malika Pukhraj was observed on Monday. Malika Pukhraj was born in village Mirpur and when she grew up her mother moved to Kanak Mandi area of Jammu, in present occupied Jammu and Kashmir, where she spent early years of her life.
She was given the name "Malika" at birth, by 'Majzoob', Baba Roti Ram, a spiritualist, in Akhnoor area, and named Pukhraj by her Aunt. Ustad Ali Baksh Kasuri - father of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, was learned at the age of nine, she visited Jammu and performed at coronation ceremony of Maharaja Hari Singh, who got so impressed by her voice that she was appointed a court singer in his Durbar, and stayed there for another nine years.
Malika Pukhraj got married to Syed Shabbir Hussain Shah, a Government Officer and had 6 children, including Safiea, her eldest daughter; Tahira Syed, one of Malika Pukhraj's daughters, emerged as a well-known singer in her own right. Malika Pukhraj was termed as a highly popular singer of Pakistan. She was generally called as "Malika" meaning The Queen.