NY Guyanese Remember Ghazal Maestro Pankaj Udhas

Mar 05, 2024 Letters

Dear Editor,

Indian Guyanese and other lovers of Indian music in the diaspora remember ghazal maestro Pankaj Udhas who passed away last week at age 72. He had a golden voice and was a master at the harmonium, a great singer. He had several memorable hits. He was honoured by the Government of India with a Padmashri.

His most famous ghazal was “Chitthi Aayi Hai”, a popular hit among the Indian diaspora and in India itself.

He was adored by Guyanese who had great memories of his performances. In fact, he was a favorite among Guyanese and Indo-Caribbean people. Guyanese and Trini tabla players accompanied him on tours several times. Several Guyanese businesses, including the late Ramesh Kalicharran group of companies, sponsored his performances in New York. He performed countless times for Indo-Guyanese and other Caribbean audience in New York, Toronto, and London including at New York mandirs. He also performed in Guyana, Trinidad, and Suriname. He was in New York not too long ago singing to large Indo-Caribbean audiences.

His passing came as a shock to not just the music industry in Bollywood but also fans around the globe. Sad faces were observed among Guyanese and other Indo-Caribbean people. Condolences poured in from Bollywood celebrities as well as Indo-Caribbean singers and musicians. Guyanese remember him as a fantastic musician and singer. In addition, they spoke of how he was a quiet, soft-spoken gentleman who was worried about copyrights of musicians and singers. He appealed to Guyanese not to patronize duplicate recordings and to purchase original tracks of all artistes as a means to supporting them. He brought Ghazal music to them.

His coffin was draped with the Indian flag, and he was given a gun salute before his cremation.

Bollywood and sports personalities, including legendary Sunil Gavaskar, attended his cremation rites. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, dressed in white, came to the funeral.

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