Obituary
HAI O RABBA NAHIO LAGDA DIL MERA
RESHMA SINGS SWANSONG
MAHTAB BASHIR
+92 333 5363248
ISLAMABAD: For many the legendary folksinger Reshma was ‘A Voice of Cuckoo’ or ‘A Queen of a Desert’ but for me she was one rare breed of artists par excellence who refused to leave her identity and patriotism despite having fame and money.
Always clad in a trade mark Rajhasthani gharara
and colourful Chunri, Reshma became an instant hit in a realm of folk singing
at the age of around 10 after she was spotted singing Sufiana kalam at the
shrine of Hazrat Shahbaz Qalandar where a Radio producer Saleem Gillani (also
close friend of my father) arranged her for make a recording of ‘Laal Meri’ at
Radio Pakistan.
Born in Rajhasthan in a family of a
Bajnara (Gypsy) in around 1947, she was migrated to Pakistani region after the
partition took place- first in Sindh and later settled in Punjab province.
In October 2002, Reshma performed at the
Brunei Gallery in London to a packed hall of Pakistani expatriates. In 2004,
she recorded ‘Ashkan Di Gali Vich Mukaam De Gaya’ which was used in the
Bollywood film ‘Woh Tera Naam Tha’ and was also a hit record in India. In
January 2006, she was one of the passengers on the inaugural Lahore-Amritsar
bus- the first such service linking both parts of the Punjab since 1947. The
bus had 26 passengers in total of which 15 were Pakistani officials.
Reshma was diagnosed with throat cancer
in the 1980s. Later her health deteriorated. President Pervez Musharraf to come
to her aid, giving her one million Rupees to help pay off a bank loan, as well
as putting her on a secured assistance of 10,000 rupees per month. He also
helped her secure a plot of land for herself, but that did not go through due
to the change in government.
The vegetarian legend singer was hospitalized
in Lahore in Doctors Hospital on 6th April 2013. The caretaker government
elected to pay all her medical expenses. Reshma fell into a coma in October
2013 and died on 3rd November 2013.
Having earned various accolades
including ‘Sitara-e-Imtiaz’ by the government of Pakistan, Reshma sung a number
of hit songs that later on hum by public at large. Few of her famous hit tracks
include ‘Lambi Judai’, ‘Hai O Rabba nahion lagda dil mera’, ‘Akhian nu rehn de
akhian de kol kol’, ‘Wei mein chori chori tere nal’, ‘Dama Dam Mastt Qalandar’,
‘Sun charkhe de’, etc.
This scribe has met the folk singing diva
twice, first on July 28, 2009 and lastly on February 8, 2012 and found Reshma
is deteriorating health. She was frail and exhausted but spoke highly about the
love people gave her over the years and about the prosperity of Pakistan- who
gave her the identity.
While having a dinner with Reshma at
Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) where the administration of PNCA
invited her to give red carpet reception for her illustrious career in music, I
asked her couple of quick questions but she was unable to answer because of her
dwindling health. While dining, taking autographs and snaps, one of Reshma’s
close relative asked me to pray for her health she might not be along you in
future. I told him the whole nation and all over the world wherever Reshma’s
voice is being heard - are praying for ‘Queen of Desert’ to recover soon.
Though illiterate academically, Reshma
gave me autographs on the night writing her name in Urdu. I wanted to talk to
her more but she was unable to … and asked me for a glass of water. The
mild-spoken Reshma with the impression ‘Hai O Rabba Nahio Lagda Dil Mera’ sang
her swansong on November 3, 2013. RIP Reshma!
Here are the links of two meetings with
Reshman
Daily Times (July 28, 2009)
Pakistan Today (February8, 2012)
Mahtab Bashir is a journalist based in
Islamabad. He can be accessed at mahtabbashir@gmail.com
