Kausar Perveen: Wistful magic of Kausar

By Anis Ahmed Shakur

Meri Akhion kay taray, mein to wari, wari jaaoon, Raj dularay

Kausar Perveen was born in Patiala, East Punjab, India, in 1933. Her father, Nath, composed songs for the first Urdu film of Pakistan, ‘Teri Yaad’. Her mother was a muslim.

Kausar migrated to Pakistan, after partition, along with her family.

Kausar, celebratory singer of the 1950s, was the younger sister of actress Aasha Poslay.

Aasha Poslay happened to be the lead actress of Pakistan’s first urdu film, ‘Teri yaad’, which was released in 1948.

Additionally, Kausar was the wife of Pakistani composer, Akhtar Husain, widely known as Akhian.

Like her elder sister, Kausar was also fair-colored and always carried a smiling face.

However, her singing voice was so different from all other singers, that there is absolutely no way to draw comparison between Kausar and the other artists.

Being the elder sister, Aasha took care of Kausar’s academic pursuit. Also, she arranged music lessons for her, and groomed Kausar as a singer.

Kausar made her singing debut from the mega hit film ‘Naukar’ in 1954. She recorded a lori, which became her identity:

‘Meri Akhion kay taray, mein to wari, wari jaaoon, Raj dularay’ (Director: Syed Ataullah Hashmi, picturised on Sauran Lata)

Her distinctive voice enraptured the audience in the following number:

‘Zindigi kay pyar bharay’ (The film ‘Naukar’)

Touched by the magic of the following tragic score, some moviegoers compared the sad theme of the song, to their personal tragic life:

‘Taqdeer kay Maalik zara deikh’ (The film ‘Naukar’, duet: Kausar Perveen- Saleem Raza)

On the other hand, the following romantic song brought smiles on the faces of the cine-goers:

‘Nazar, nazar say mila lain, agar ijazat ho’ (The film ‘Naukar’ Duet: Kausar Perveen- Saleem Raza)

The wistful magic of Kausar did the trick in various film situations—be it tragedy or comedy.

Below is a romantic number, which resounds in ones ear to date:

‘Kab tak raho gey Aakhir, aji yoon dooor, dooor hum say, milna paray ga ik din, tum ko zuroor hum say’ (The film ‘Choti Begum’, 1955, director: Syed Ataullah Hashmi, picturised on Sabiha Khanum)

Let us look at this number, which is fraught with pathos:

‘Tarapti hain tamanna yein’ (The film ‘Choti Begum’)

Listen to the voice of koel: ‘Koel bolay ku ku’(The film ‘Choti Begum)

Kausar recorded the following score with great effect:

‘Hum bhi raazi, tum bhi raazi’ (The film ‘Choti Begum’ duet: Kausar Perveen- Saleem Raza)

Kausar made her presence felt at a time, when luminaries like Noor Jehan, Naseem Begum and Zubeida Khanum were illuminating the musical sky with their magnificent voices.

The following musical super hit will prove the above statement:

‘O maina, mujhay kya ho gaya, kahan dil kho gaya’ (The film ‘Qatil’, 1955)

Kausar sang the following sad songs for beautifully written and solidly researched movies:

‘Her qadam pay sitam’ (The film ‘Hameeda’, directed by Munshi Dal)

‘Baar, baar tarsain moray nain, moray naina’ (The film ‘Wada’, directed by W.Z.Ahmed, duet: Kausar Perveen- Sharafat Ali)

‘Suna yain kya,kya dukh bhari kahani’ (The film ‘Wada’)

‘Babul ka ghar suna kar kay’ (widaai song, the film ‘Hasrat’)

Kausar’s unique singing style made her a household name, soon after, the mega hit film ‘Saat lakh’ was released.

The sheer poignancy in her voice brought tears in the eyes of music-buffs:

‘Sitam gar mujhay bay wafa jaanta hai, meray dil ki halat khuda jaanta hai’ (The film ‘Saat lakh’ directed with plenty of zest by Jafar Malik)

Below are scores, whose music simply made people feel happy:

‘Baaghoan mein bahaar Aaye’ (The film ‘Hasrat’, director, Munshi Dal, duet: Kausar Perveen- Saleem Raza)

‘Mera dhoal maahi ’(The film ‘Hasrat’)

‘Sama pyara, pyara ’(The film ‘Pawan’, director, Aslam Irani)

A look back at the following romantic numbers will revive our memories:

‘Raat ho gaye jawan, naghma bun kar Aaga ye ’(The film ‘Sabra’, duet, Kausar Perveen- Saleem Raza, director: Rafi Chaudhry, producer: Nazeer,made under the banner of Anis Pictures)

‘Ye dil tum pay fida’ (The film ‘Sabra’, duet: Kausar Perveen- Inayat Husain Bhatti)

Kausar spiced our imagination by offering a variety of songs in her sojourn.

Below are two instances, where Kausar sang with some sadness, a certain wistfulness:

‘Qismat nay mohabbat ka’ (The film ‘Haqeeqat’, producer: A.Shikar puri)

‘Kuchh haal apnay dil ka diwana’ (The film ‘Haqeeqat’, Duet: Kausar Perveen- Saleem Raza)

The following feel-good songs drew plaudits for her all around:

‘Pal, pal jhumoon’ (The film ‘Zeher-e-Ishq’)

‘Jhumay, jhumay’ (The film ‘Naya zamana’, Duet: Kausar Perveen- Saleem Raza)

Her splendid voice was a translation of music through the soul. Especially her rendition in the film ‘Aas Paas’, directed by M.A.Rasheed:

‘Meri nazroan mein koi samanay laga’

To listen to the following two sad songs is to experience the intensity of a commendatory artist and rightly so:

‘Na jaao janay walay’ (The film ‘Darbaar’, first film of director Riyaz Ahmed)

‘Maalik teray jahan kay kya’ (The film ‘Daata’, Duet: Kausar Perveen- Saleem Raza)

Kausar recorded a song for the film ‘Paharun’ in 1961, at Shah Noor Studios. Director: Farrukh Bukhari, inaugurated by Syed Shaukat Husain Rizvi, starring: Yusuf Khan, yasmeen)

Kausar died while still young and vibrant on December 3, 1963, at Lahore. She was 30, and at the height of her singing career at the time of her death.

Aasha was devastated by the untimely death of Kausar. She lived with her memory up until her death in 1998.

Kausar left all of us for her eternal journey forty years ago.

She entertained people with her unmatched voice in her very short lifetime.

She continues to enthrall her admirers with her songs long after her death.