Google honoured highly acclaimed Ghazal singer of Pakistan

• The Google Doodle celebrates the singer famous for her renditions of ghazal, poem and other classical forms, as well as music for film and national songs.
• Iqbal Bano was born in 1938 in Delhi and studied with Ustad Chand Khan and began singing on All India Radio as a teenager.
• Music lovers noted some similarities between Iqbal Bano and Begum Akhtar, especially some marked resemblances in their styles of singing.

ISLAMABAD: Google honoured highly acclaimed Ghazal singer of Pakistan Iqbal Bano with her very own Google Doodle on her 81st birthday.

The Google Doodle celebrates the singer famous for her renditions of ghazal, poem and other classical forms, as well as music for film and national songs.

Iqbal Bano was born in 1938 in Delhi and studied with Ustad Chand Khan and began singing on All India Radio as a teenager.

She moved to Pakistan in 1952 and sang on Radio Pakistan, provided vocals as a playback singer for super hit films.

In light classical, her presentation of 'Thumris in Raag Khamaj' (Kaahe Sataye Mohey), Tilak Kamod (Sautan Ghar Na Ja), Des (Nahin Pare Mohe Chain), Pilu (Gori Tore Naina Kajar Bin Kaare) and others such renderings which have become ever-green classics.

Music lovers noted some similarities between Iqbal Bano and Begum Akhtar, especially some marked resemblances in their styles of singing. Bano's recitals stuck to a classical style that lays more stress on the raag purity.

She was awarded the Pride of Performance by the Pakistani Government in 1974 for her outstanding achievements in classical music. She passed away in 2009 in Lahore.