Reshma
Encyclopedia
Reshma, SI, is a renowned folk singer
of Pakistan
, who is popular in India
too.
, Rajasthan
to a Banjara
(Gypsy) family about 1947. Her family moved to Pakistan during the partition of India
soon afterwards. She says she does not have any training in classical music. In 2004 her rendition of Ashkan Di Gali Vich Mukaam De Gaya was in the top ten of the Indian charts.
Reshma once said in an interview, "I was born in a family of saudagars in Rajasthan in a small settlement called Bikaner. I don't know the year I was born but I was told that I was brought to Pakistan when I was a few months old in 1947. My family would take camels from Bikaner and sell them in other areas, and bring back goats and cows from elsewhere to sell at home. I belong to a huge clan of gypsies. We were forever travelling around. Though a lot of us have now settled and taken up permanent residences in Lahore and Karachi, whenever we feel restless we pack our bags and move on."
Some of her famous numbers are "Dama Dam Mast Kalandar", "Hai O Rabba nahion lagda dil mera", "Sun charkhe di mithi mithi cook mahiya meinu yaad aunda", "Wey main chori chori", "Ankhiyan no rehen de ankhyan de kol kol".
The last was used by Raj Kapoor in Bobby, "Ankhyon ko rehne de ankhyon ke aas pass", sung by Lata. Her fame had wafted across border, thanks to pirated tapes. She was able to perform live in India much later, during the 80s when India and Pakistan allowed exchange of artists. Subhash Ghai used her voice to great effect in 'Lambi Judai' (Hero).
She cannot read and write and usually prefaces her songs with some funny anecdote related to her rustic ways. There was something about telling the ages of children by the number of times one has eaten kharbooje since. She usually champions the cause of Indo-Pakistan friendship, her rustic Punjabi is a delight to hear.
In October 2002 Reshma performed at the Brunei Gallery in London
to a packed fall of Pakistani expatriates her daughter Khadija and Umayr also performed.
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 whom 15 were Pakistani officials, Reshma had booked seven seats for herself and her family.
Reshma described Musharraf as a true lover of art.
Reshma is a vegetarian.
Folk Singer
Folk Singer is a 1964 album by Muddy Waters. Waters plays acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar...
of Pakistan
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...
, who is popular in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
too.
Early life
She was born in Loha village of in Tahsil RatangarhRatangarh
Ratangarh is a town in the Churu district in Rajasthan, India. Ratangarh was previously called Kolasar. It is famous for grand havelis with frescoes, which is an architectural speciality of the Shekhawati region...
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
to a Banjara
Banjara
The Banjara are a class of usually described as nomadic people from the Indian state of Rajasthan, North-West Gujarat, and Western Madhya Pradesh and Eastern Sindh province of pre-independence Pakistan...
(Gypsy) family about 1947. Her family moved to Pakistan during the partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
soon afterwards. She says she does not have any training in classical music. In 2004 her rendition of Ashkan Di Gali Vich Mukaam De Gaya was in the top ten of the Indian charts.
Reshma once said in an interview, "I was born in a family of saudagars in Rajasthan in a small settlement called Bikaner. I don't know the year I was born but I was told that I was brought to Pakistan when I was a few months old in 1947. My family would take camels from Bikaner and sell them in other areas, and bring back goats and cows from elsewhere to sell at home. I belong to a huge clan of gypsies. We were forever travelling around. Though a lot of us have now settled and taken up permanent residences in Lahore and Karachi, whenever we feel restless we pack our bags and move on."
Rise to Fame
She was discovered by the Pakistan radio and soon her voice was all around.Some of her famous numbers are "Dama Dam Mast Kalandar", "Hai O Rabba nahion lagda dil mera", "Sun charkhe di mithi mithi cook mahiya meinu yaad aunda", "Wey main chori chori", "Ankhiyan no rehen de ankhyan de kol kol".
The last was used by Raj Kapoor in Bobby, "Ankhyon ko rehne de ankhyon ke aas pass", sung by Lata. Her fame had wafted across border, thanks to pirated tapes. She was able to perform live in India much later, during the 80s when India and Pakistan allowed exchange of artists. Subhash Ghai used her voice to great effect in 'Lambi Judai' (Hero).
She cannot read and write and usually prefaces her songs with some funny anecdote related to her rustic ways. There was something about telling the ages of children by the number of times one has eaten kharbooje since. She usually champions the cause of Indo-Pakistan friendship, her rustic Punjabi is a delight to hear.
In October 2002 Reshma performed at the Brunei Gallery in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to a packed fall of Pakistani expatriates her daughter Khadija and Umayr also performed.
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 whom 15 were Pakistani officials, Reshma had booked seven seats for herself and her family.
President Musharraf's aid to Reshma
Reshma suffered from Cancer and was in a pretty bad shape when President of Pakistan- President Pervez Musharraf came to her aid, and helped her pay of her loan of 1 million Rupees, as well as put 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.Reshma described Musharraf as a true lover of art.
Health and Present Life
She is currently residing in dubai suffering with cancer. Recently on Hum TV, in Karachi, Pakistan, Reshma made it a point to let the audience know how unhappy she was with them, because she was forgotten. She also pointed out at the Zardari government for stopping her social assistance paycheck. She also mentioned that when she was in India, the officials asked her to stay there for good, as she was born in Rajasthan, but she returned to Pakistan. Her daughter Shazia Reshma sings with her mother sometimes on talk shows or events. Reshma can't sing much as her voice has been lost due to her illnesses. She can't pronounce words that well, and thus requires the help of her daughter to clear her singing. At the end of the talk show on Hum TV, Reshma left a number for people to help her survive her situation.Reshma is a vegetarian.