Pankaj Udhas, the vocalist of Ghazals, died after a protracted illness. His daughter Nayaab Udhas confirmed the news in a social media post. The singer of Chitthi Ayee Hai and Aur Ahista Kijiye Baatein passed away at a Mumbai hospital at approximately eleven in the morning, according to reports citing family members. Tuesday is the day of the final ceremonies.
“With a very heavy heart, we are saddened to inform you of the sad demise of Padma Shri Pankaj Udhas on February 26 due to a prolonged illness,” read a missive from the family.
The music industry was horrified and in mourning upon the singer’s passing. After the news surfaced on Monday afternoon, condolence messages were flooding in, with many people taking to social media to express their shock and dismay.
Udhas was born in Gujarat to a musically inclined family and enrolled at the Rajkot Sangeet Academy alongside his brothers at a young age. He later began learning Hindustani vocal classical music from Ghulam Qadir Khan Sahab and eventually moved to Mumbai to train under Gwalior Gharana singer Navrang Nagpurkar.
According to reports, he performed Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo on stage for the first time during the India-China war, moving a viewer to award him ₹51. In the 1972 film Kaamna, directed by K Chatterjee, he received his first song credit.
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