Reshma

Some Lesser Known Facts About Reshma

•  Reshma was a Pakistani folk singer who became popular for her unique and deep voice. She was titled as the nightingale of the desert and received the third-highest honour and civilian award in Pakistan, Sitara-e-Imtiaz. She began her career with a song that she recorded for Pakistan Radio and is still remembered for her mesmerizing voice. She recorded multiple songs for the Pakistani and Indian film industries.

• Reshma was born in a Banjara household in Bikaner, Rajasthan in 1947. It was the year of India’s independence and the partition of India and Pakistan. During the partition, Reshma was moved to Karachi with her family. She belonged to a tribe that was converted to Islam.

• Her family didn’t pay attention to her education and that was the reason why her family didn’t make any efforts for her education. She didn’t have a family background or formal training in music but was still good at singing. She used to sing at the shrines of Sindh, Pakistan at a young age. Once she was singing at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalander and that is when she was discovered by a local producer named Saleem Gilani. ^[2]The Hindu He was impressed by her voice and offered her to record a track for Pakistan Radio.

• She was just 12 years old when she recorded her first song for Pakistan Radio, Laal Meri Pat Rakhio. Due to some reason, she and her family ran away after recording the song and were requested to return after Reshma became famous.

• The success of this song marked the commencement of her journey as a singer. She worked in both the Pakistani and Indian film industries with her increasing popularity. Some of her all-time hits included Ankhiyaan Nu Rehn De, Oh Laal Meri, Haaye Oh Rabba, and Sada Chidiyaan Da Chamba Vey. It was the depth and strength in her voice that grabbed the attention of filmmaker Subhash Ghai. He offered her to sing the popular song Lambi Judai for his movie Hero. Not just that, her song Ankhiyan nu rehen de ankhyan de kol kol was used by Raj Kapoor in his movie Bobby and was sung by the famous singer, Lata Mangeshkar.

  

• For her contribution to music, she received the Pride of Performance Award in 1982 by the government of Pakistan.

• In 2004, she recorded the song Ashkan Di Gali Vich Mukaam De Gaya for the Bollywood movie, Woh Tere Namm Tha. She gave many live performances in Pakistan and also performed in India when Pakistan allowed the exchange of artists. She respected both the nations and become the inaugural passenger of the Lahore – Amritsar bus. She once talked about the partition and said,
  

  the borders do not matter to me… because, an artist belongs to all.”

  

  For her legendary performances, she was once invited to meet India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

• She also received the Sitara-i-Imtiaz award, which is the star of excellence award in 2008 by the President of Pakistan.

• Reshma was in a coma when she passed away in 2013. She was suffering from throat cancer for a long time and on 6 April 2013, she was admitted to Lahore’s Doctors Hospital.
  

  

  When she was admitted, the Pakistani government decided to pay her medical bills and the president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf helped by offering financial aid of Rs. 1 crore to pay Reshma’s bank loan ^[3]The Hindu but unfortunately, she couldn’t be saved and passed away on 3 November 2013.  ^[4]The Hindu