A game of Kemari at Tanzan Shrine

A game of Kemari at Tanzan Shrine

For Kemari or Kiamari neighborhood of Karachi, Pakistan, see Kiamari.

Kemari (Japanese: 蹴鞠) is a ball game that was popular in Japan during the Heian Period. Kemari has been revived in modern times.

History[link]

The first evidence of kemari is from A.D.644.^[1] The rules were standardized from the 13th century.^[1] It was the first Japanese sport to become highly developed.^[1]

The game was influenced by the Chinese sport of Cuju.^[2] The characters for Kemari are the same as Cuju in Chinese. The sport was introduced to Japan about 600, during the Asuka period.

Nowadays, it is played in Shinto shrines for festivals.^[2]

Description[link]

Kemari is a very physical sport; it is a whole body exercise for all ages. It is played primarily for the pleasure of those playing and watching.^[1]

The object of Kemari is to keep one ball in the air,^[2] with all players cooperating to do so. Players may use their head, feet, knees, back, and possibly elbows to keep the ball aloft. The ball, known as a Mari, is made of deerskin with the hair facing inside and the hide on the outside. The ball is stuffed with barley grains to give it shape. When the hide has set in this shape, the grains are removed from the ball, and it is then sewn together using the skin of a horse. The one who kicks the ball is called a mariashi. A good mariashi makes it easy for the receiver to control the mari, and serves it with a soft touch to make it easy to keep the mari in the air.

Kemari is played on a flat ground, about 6–7 meters squared.^[1] The uniforms that the players wear are reminiscent of the clothes of the Asuka age and include a crow hat. This type of clothing was called kariginu and it was fashionable at that time.

Kemari in Popular Culture[link]

• InuYasha mentions that he played Kemari when he was little, in the third movie, Swords of an Honorable Ruler

• In the Samurai Warriors series from Koei, Imagawa Yoshimoto uses a Mari as a weapon along with his Nodachi.

• In the anime and manga Soul Eater, Tsubaki reminisces about playing Kemari with her older brother when they were little, despite her being bad at the game.

• In the anime Bleach, there is a Kemari game played in Episode 205.

• George H. W. Bush played the game on one of his presidential visits to Japan.^[3][4][5]

See also[link]

• Cuju
• Footbag

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kemari

Sandhy Soendhoro, better known by his stage name Sandhy Sondoro, sometimes stylized as Sandhy SonDoro, is an Indonesian singer-songwriter. He is best known for winning the 2009 International Contest of Young Pop Singer New Wave, in Jūrmala, Latvia.

Early life[link]

Sandhy was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, as Sandhy Soendhoro,^[1] to Rr. Rika Pudjihastuti and Achmad Fauzan. Sandhy is of Palembangese Malay, Javanese, and Minangkabau descent.^[1]

Sandhy came from a musical family, where the house provide the likes of American pop, folk, jazz and blues tunes coming from his mother’s or father’s guitar everyday. His cousin, Ira Maya Sopha, was a famous child singer in Indonesia during the 1970s.^[2]

After graduating from high school in Jakarta, at the age of 18 Sandhy went to visit his uncle in California and stayed there for a while, before leaving for Germany to study architecture.

Early career[link]

In Germany, he joined a band in his campus, but they rarely appeared on stage. Later he decided to find a job as he lived alone there and needed to support himself. He had an opportunity to work in a supermarket, but didn't get the job, as he was too late. On the way back to his apartment on his bike, he saw a busker on the street, and asked if he could join him. The busker agreed and Sandhy borrowed his friend's guitar and started playing on the streets of Biberach an der Riss. They got 50 deutschemarks in an hour and shared the money. They played three times a week before he decided to do it alone.^[3]

In 1998 he moved back to Berlin and started singing and playing the guitar in bars, clubs and in metros. His famous song "Down on the Streets" was inspired by the experience gained in Berlin metros. He also performed in famous theatres like the House of World Cultures in Berlin, and at music festivals such as the Bode museum isle festival. In 2005, Sandhy performed in a charity concert for the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami victims, "Berlin for Asia."

During his time in Germany Sandhy "changed" his last name from "Soendhoro" (new spelling: Sundhoro) to "Sondoro" because many people had difficulties in pronouncing it. He also explained that Sondoro means "The Sound of Gold" in Latin. On his birth certificate and other official documents, his last name remains as "Soendhoro."^[1]

Sandhy found a wider audience through Stefan Raab´s casting show, a popular segment within one of Germany´s most successful late night shows SSDSDSSWEMUGABRTLAD .

On April 25, 2008 he published his debut album Why Dont We, after releasing his first single "Down on the Street" earlier.

[edit] New Wave

Sandhy participated in the 8th edition of New Wave, an "International Contest of Young Pop Singer" in Jūrmala, Latvia, after Brandon Stone, a music producer, suggested he take part in the competition. The 2009 New Wave ran from July 28 to August 2, 2009, and was participated by 16 contestants from 12 differenct countries. Sandhy was the first Indonesian, also the first Southeast Asian to participate.

The first day of the competition the contestants were required to sing world hits, and Sandhy sang "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge. He received 9 points from one of the twelve judges, while the rest gave him 10, giving him 119 points in total. Sandhy came in first place, followed by Jamala from the Ukraine in the second place, who sang "History Repeating."

The second day the contestants were required to sing national hit songs, and Sandhy chose his own song "Malam Biru" which is in Indonesian. Sandhy again received 119 points from the judges, and was still in the first place with 238 points, tying with Jamala who received a perfect score on the second day of the competition.

On the third and final day, the contestants had to sing a song that is "dedicated to New Wave 2009" and Sandhy performed another song that he wrote, "End of the Rainbow." Both Sandhy and Jamala received a perfect score of 120, making them the winners of New Wave 2009 with 358 points, and were awarded €50,000 each.^[4]

[edit] Post-New Wave

Sandhy started to gain fame in his home country Indonesia after videos of his performances in New Wave were uploaded to Youtube.

In 2010, he was invited by Diane Warren to perform for PBS in the Palladium Theatre, along with famous artists such as Cher, Patti Austin, Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Eric Benet, Fantasia, Le Ann Rimes and others.^[5]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Why Don't We (2008)
• Sandhy Sondoro (2010)

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c} Sondoro, Sandhy (February 8, 2011). "Saya Menyanyi dengan Tulus". Kompas, p. 33.
2. ^ "Sandhy Sondoro: Biography". last.fm. 2009-12-14. http://www.last.fm/music/Sandhy+Sondoro/+wiki. Retrieved 2011-02-08. 
3. ^ Triwik Kurniasari (2010-10-01). "Sandhy Sondoro : The newborn world singer". The Jakarta Post. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/01/10/sandhy-sondoro-the-newborn-world-singer.html. Retrieved 2011-02-08. 
4. ^ "Sandhy Sondoro Memenangkan Ajang Kompetisi New Waves 2009 di Jurmala, Latvia". Jurpro. 2009-08-03. http://www.jurpro.net/blog/2009/08/03/sandhy-sondoro-memenangkan-ajang-kompetisi-new-waves-2009-di-jurmala-latvia/. Retrieved 2011-02-08. 
5. ^ Tomi Tresnady (2010-10-24). "Sandhy Sondoro: Saya Tidak Ingin Terkenal". Okezone. http://music.okezone.com/read/2010/10/24/386/385800/sandhy-sondoro-saya-tidak-ingin-terkenal. Retrieved 2011-02-08. 

Melissa Ann Francis (December 12, 1972) is an American television journalist for the Fox Business Network. She is also a former child actress.

Education[link]

Francis graduated from Harvard University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and served as executive editor of The Harvard College Economist magazine. She was also the captain of the Harvard Polo Team.

Career[link]

Acting[link]

Francis started her acting career on television before her first birthday, first appearing in a Johnson & Johnson shampoo commercial at 6 months old. She was best known for her role as Cassandra Cooper Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie, for two seasons. She appeared as one of Michael Landon's children for two seasons during the early 1980s.^[1][2] Other television appearances include two series regular roles: Morningstar/Eveningstar and Joe’s World, and three films including Man, Woman and Child, where she played Paula Beckwith; she appeared in the television series St. Elsewhere in 1986; and also in the 1988 film Bad Dreams, where she played young Cynthia. Melissa appeared in nearly 100 commercials during her acting career. She is supposedly the inspiration for the fictional character Avery Jessup (conceived of and played by Elizabeth Banks) in the show 30 Rock,^[3] although Banks herself has denied this.^[4]

Television journalist[link]

In January 2012, Francis became a financial news reporter and anchor for Fox Business Network.^[5]

Previously, she was a financial news reporter and anchor for CNBC. She originally provided live hourly reports from the New York Mercantile Exchange on trading in crude oil futures contracts, where Francis earned the moniker "The Empress of Energy" from veteran CNBC anchor Larry Kudlow for successfully predicting the upcoming ethanol boom in the United States, weeks before it actually took place.^{[citation needed]} She was the first reporter to broadcast live from the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange.^{[citation needed]}

Prior to CNBC, Francis was a correspondent for CNET's broadcast unit, where she covered finance, technology and consumer products.^[6]

Before CNET, Francis was a News 12 New Jersey reporter,^{[citation needed]} and anchored for many New England television stations in Hartford,^{[citation needed]} Manchester,^{[citation needed]} and Providence.^{[citation needed]} She also served as producer for WCSH-TV in Portland, Maine.^{[citation needed]} and researcher for the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour.^{[citation needed]} She was an NBC News intern twice before graduating from college.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• Fox Business bio
• Melissa Francis at the Internet Movie Database

This article relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Discussion about the problems with the sole source used may be found on the talk page. (July 2011)

Indra Lesmana (born March 28, 1966 in Jakarta) is an Indonesian jazz pianist.^[1]

Background[link]

He was introduced to jazz music by his father, Jack Lesmana, who is also a jazz musician. His musical career with keyboards instrument started at age 10. He first performed with his father in March 1976 in Bandung.

In 1978, he went to Australia with his father to perform at cultural event of the ASEAN Trade Fair. During the stay his father encouraged Indra to take a qualification test at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music. He passed the test and was accepted at the school.

Music career[link]

In 1981, both he and his father formed a band called Jack and Indra Lesmana Quartet with Jack Lesmana, Karim Suweileh and James Morrison. They took a recording session during their visit in Indonesia in the same year and dealt with Queen Record to release the record called “Children of Fantasy“.

When he returned to Australia, he formed a Latin jazz fusion band with Jack Lesmana, Steve Brien, Dale Barlow, Tony Thijssen and Harry Rivers called “Children of Fantasy“. The band visited Indonesia in August 1982 to work on their tours.

In 1982, Indra explored his fusion jazz styles of music and formed another band called Nebula with Steve Hunter, Andy Evans, Ken James, Vince Genova, Carlinhos Gonzalves. The band had recorded their session in No Standing that contained 4 compositions by Indra (No Standing, The First, Sleeping Beauty, ‘Tis time to part) and a Steve Hunter’s “Samba for ET“. The album released in Australia by Jasmine Records and also in Indonesia by Jackson Records.

In 1983, he joined Sandy Evans, Tony Buck and Steve Elphick to form a modern jazz band called “ Women and Children First “ and recorded their first album in 1983.

Zebra Records, an affiliate of MCA Records sent their interest to sign him as the solo artist and release the album “ No Standing “ as Indra Lesmana’ s solo album. The agreement met in 1984 and the album was remastered by Bernie Grundman before released in the US.

Indra moved to California, US in 1985 and did the recording with Vinnie Colaiuta, Michael Landau, Jimmy Haslip, Airto Moreira, Charlie Haden, Bobby Shew, Tootie Heath for his album called “ For Earth and Heaven “. The album released in 1986 and happened to be his second internationally distributed album.

His two albums “ No Standing “ and “ For Earth and Heaven “ appeared to be his highlight debut in USA. His singles “ No Standing “ ( from No Standing album ) and “ Stephanie “ ( from For Earth and Heaven album ) became the hits and entered the Billboard Charts for Jazz in US and number one in radio charts.

Besides his perform duties as an artist and record producer, Indra has deep interest in audio or sound recording technology. His album called Tragedi released in 1984 happened to be his first debut in becoming a sound designer. In 1998 Indra firstly produced the master quality sound of the Sabda Prana album by Java Jazz. In 1999 he decided to establish his independent mixing and mastering house specializing in jazz. He has personally mixed and mastered more than 20 albums of Indonesian distinguished artists, such as The Groove, Maliq & D'Essentials, Andien, Donny Suhendra, Rika Roeslan, Delon, Simak Dialog, Chlorophyl, Dewa Budjana, Humania, Ermy Kulit and many more. He was also nominated for Best Mixing Engineer for album Rumah Ke Tujuh on AMI Awards 2003.

In 2000, his first single-instrumental jazz music video called Reborn was heavily aired on Indonesia's national television.^{[citation needed]}

He formed his first 17-piece big band project in March 2002 in order to record his 17th solo album that also happened to be his first big band arrangement of original soundtrack album “ Rumah Ke Tujuh “ film produced by his sister, Mira Lesmana.

Other achievements[link]

In early 2004, with wife Hanny Trihandojo Lesmana and music partner Aksan Syuman, built and organize a non-profit art documentary weekly program at a mini art center in South Jakarta called “ Concert Practice to regenerate young people to explore their artistic performance in music and dance.

In March 2004, Indra was engaged to Fremantle Media and RCTI working for the Indonesian Idol as the head of the four juries.

He was a judge in the first Asian Idol held in Indonesia, representing Indonesian Idol.

In year 2006 he established an independent digital music distribution IM:port ( Indonesian Music Portal ) with Anang Hermansyah, Abdee Negara and Hanny Lesmana. He and Hanny Lesmana resigned in year 2008 and decided to focus on their own independent jazz label and music studio, Inline Music.

In year 2009 Indra started to call some of his jazz musicians friends to have regular private jam session at Inline Music studio every friday. Inline Studio become a mini jazz house for the local jazz musicians and get many attentions from public who would like to see the liveliness.

In April 2010 Indra and Hanny Lesmana launched their Mostly Jazz program event for public at a cafe in South Jakarta. Then in November 2010, they both started organizing weekly jazz event at Red & White Lounge in Kemang, South Jakarta. In October 2011, they changed the name to RedWhite Jazz Lounge and run it as a jazz club.

Discography[link]

• 1978 Ayahku Sahabatku
• 1981 Children of Fantasy
• 1982 No Standing
• 1982 Nostalgia
• 1982 Latin Jazz Fusion (Special Edition)
• 1983 Women and Children First
• 1984 No Standing
• 1984 Tragedi
• 1984 Yang Pertama Yang Bahagia
• 1986 For Earth and Heaven
• 1986 Karina
• 1986 Gemilang
• 1986 Jack & Indra Lesmana Various
• 1987 La Samba Primadona
• 1987 Semakin Menawan
• 1988 Kau Datang
• 1988 Ekspresi
• 1989 Dunia Boleh Tertawa
• 1989 Titi DJ 1989
• 1990 Aku Ingin
• 1990 Adegan
• 1992 Cerita Lalu
• 1992 Selangkah Di Depan
• 1992 Hanya Untukmu
• 1993 Biarkan Aku Kembali
• 1994 Tiada Kata
• 1994 Waktu Berjalan
• 1994 Kehadiran
• 1994 Bulan Di Atas Asia
• 1994 Ayah
• 1995 Kabut Di Kaki Langit
• 1996 Jalan Yang Hilang
• 1996 Romantic Piano
• 1996 Jalan Hidupmu
• 1996 Menari-Nari
• 1997 Lost Forest
• 1997 Selamat Tinggal
• 1998 Kedua
• 1998 Sabda Prana
• 1999 Saat Yang Terindah
• 2000 Interaksi
• 2000 Reborn
• 2001 The Birds
• 2002 Kinanti
• 2002 Rumah Ke Tujuh OST
• 2003 Gelatik
• 2005 Silver
• 2006 Jalinan Kasih
• 2007 Kayon - Tree of life
• 2008 Kembali Satu
• 2009 Dream Hope and Faith
• 2010 Joy Joy Joy
• 2011 Love Life Wisdom"

Awards[link]

• Best Jazz/Pop Keyboards Instrumentalist - Gadis [1989]
• Best Pop Selling Album : “Aku Ingin“ - BASF Awards [1990]
• Diamond Achievement Awards - De Beers Diamond [1995]
• Best Jazz/Fusion Album – producer : “ Ermi Kullit - Saat Yang Terindah “ - 4th AMI Awards [2000]
• Best Jazz Vocalist - News Music Awards [2001]
• Best Keyboardist - News Music Awards [2001]
• Best Instrumental Song : “ Reborn “ - 5th AMI Awards [2001]
• Best Jazz/Contemporary Jazz Album – producer : “ Andien - Kinanti “ - 6th AMI Awards [2002]
• Best Score/Soundtrack : “ Rumah Ke Tujuh “- Festival Film Bandung [2003]
• Best Jazz/Contemporary Jazz Artist - 7th AMI Awards [2003]
• Best Jazz Song : “Mimpi & Rumah ke Tujuh“ - 7th AMI Awards [2003]
• Best Jazz Arranger : “Mimpi & Rumah ke Tujuh“ - 7th AMI Awards [2003]
• Best Jazz Producer : “OST Rumah ke Tujuh“ - 7th AMI Awards [2003]
• Most Radical Musician : Nokia 7600 [2004]
• Most Favorite Jazz Player : JAK JAZZ [2008]
• Most Prominent Jazz Musician : 33rd Jazz Goes To Campus - 4th JGTC Award [2010]
• Best Jazz Artist Instrumental Performance : 14th AMI Awards [2011]
• Most Influential Indonesian Musician on twitter : [2011]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• Detail album "For Earth and Heaven"

Ahmed Rushdi
Background information
Birth name	Syed Ahmed Rushdi
Also known as	Magician Of Voice (Urdu: آواز کا جادوگر) Master Of Stage (Urdu: اسٹیج کا استاد) Rushdi Sahab (Urdu: رُشدی صاحب)
Born	(1934-04-24)April 24, 1934 Hyderabad Deccan, British India
Origin	Pakistani
Died	April 11, 1983(1983-04-11) (aged 48) Karachi, Pakistan
Genres	Classical music, pop, ghazal, disco, hip-hop, rock n roll
Occupations	Urdu and regional playback singer
Instruments	Vocalist
Years active	1951–1983

Ahmed Rushdi, SI, PP (Urdu: احمد رشدی; April 24, 1934 – April 11, 1983) was a versatile Pakistani playback singer who worked in film music and was "an important contributor to the Golden Age of Pakistani film music." Rushdi is acclaimed as one of the greatest singers ever lived in south asia^[1] and was a natural baritone, yet could sing high tenor notes with ease. Born in Hyderabad Deccan, he migrated to Pakistan and became a leading singer in the Pakistan film industry. He is considered to be one of the most versatile vocalists of the subcontinent and was capable of singing variety of songs. He is also considered to be the first regular pop singer of south asia^[2] and credited as having sung the "first-ever South asian" pop song, "Ko-Ko-Ko-reena."^[3]

In 1954, he recorded the official National anthem of Pakistan with several other singers.^[4][5] Rushdi has recorded the highest number of film songs in the history of Pakistani cinema in Urdu, English, Punjabi, Bengali, Sindhi and Gujarati languages. He suffered from poor health during the latter part of his life and died of a heart attack at the age of 48, after recording approximately five thousand film songs for 583 released films. Besides popular music, Rushdi also helped popularize the ghazals of Naseer Turabi.^[6]

In 2003, 20 years after his death, Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf awarded him the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, the "star of excellence," an honour given for distinguished merit in the fields of literature, arts, sports, medicine, or science.^[7] A street in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi, also named Ahmed Rushdi Road.^[8]

Early life[link]

Ahmed Rushdi was born to a religious, conservative family of Hyderabad Deccan in 1934. His father, Syed Manzoor Ahmed, taught Arabic, Islamic History and Persian at Aurangabad College, Hyderabad, Deccan. He died when Rushdi was only six years old.^[9] From a young age, Rushdi was fond of listening to the musical programs, including songs, which were broadcast from the radio. He neither inherited music from any one, nor any body in his family was ever affiliated to music. Ahmed Rushdi's singing talents impressed a very close friend of his father, whom he called uncle and who loved him dearly. He enrolled in a local music academy in Hyderabad Deccan.^[10] Moreover, two popular composers of the time, M.A. Rauf and Iqbal Qureshi, also taught music in the same school. Thus, Ahmed Rushdi learned the basics of music from the afore-mentioned teachers.

Ahmed Rushdi did not get any sort of formal training of classical music neither before nor after becoming a successful playback singer but he had an effective command over high and low notes. He sang his first song in the Indian film Ibrat in 1951 and got recognition. His family moved to Pakistan and settled in Karachi in 1954, where he began participating in variety shows, music programs, and children's programs on radio. In 1954, he recorded his first non-film song, "Bunder Road se Keemari", written by Mehdi Zaheer for the popular Radio Pakistan show Bachchon Ki Duniya; the song was a hit and became the steppingstone for Rushdi's future.^[11][12]

Singing career[link]

After the success of "Bunder Road se Keemari", Rushdi was offered songs as a playback singer for films and quickly gained popularity.^[13] He lent his voice to many hit films like Bara Aadmi (1956), Wah Rey Zamaney (1957), Raat Ke Rahi (1957), Yeh Dunya (1958) and many more. Rushdi got well recognition for singing "Mari lela ne aisi" in Anokhi (1956), "Chalak Rahi Hain Mastiyan" and "Chal Na Sakey Gi 420" in Raaz (1959). In 1961, he sang the popular song "Chand Sa Mukhra Gora Badan" in the film Saperan, for which he received his first Nigar Award as Best Male Playback Singer.^[14] He further strengthened his status as one of the top male playback singers in Mehtaab (1962), in which he sang "Gol Gappay Wala Aaya" for actor Alauddin; they would again be teamed in Susral. In 1966, he sang "Ko Ko Koreena", considered the first modern Pakistani pop song.^[15][16]

The film Anchal (1960) was an important film in Rushdi’s career. Music director Khalil Ahmed recorded an extremely sad number “Kisi chaman mei raho tum” in singer Saleem Raza's voice but wanted Rushdi to re-record the song as he was not satisfied with Saleem Raza’s singing. Rushdi did so and the song recorded in his voice satisfied composer Khalil. Raza's career as a singer was affected and doomed later on. After that, whenever Khalil composed music for any film, Rushdi remained his first choice.^[17] The mid 1960s saw the rise of brilliant singers like Mehdi Hassan and Masood Rana, but it did not affect Rushdi's career and he kept on leading the film music.

Music experts including Nisar Bazmi, Sohail Rana and M. Ashraf are unanimous that Rushdi’s voice was best suited for every hero, comedian and even character actor.^{[citation needed]} He lent his voice to Waheed Murad, Nadeem, Santosh Kumar, Darpan, Habib, Rehman, Ghulam Mohiuddin and was tailor made for every actor of film industry. Rushdi's voice was even ideally suited to comedians such as Munawar Zarif, Lehri, Nirala, Nanha and Rangeela.

Rushdi recorded the ghazal “Shok-e-awargi” written by poet Habib Jalib for actor Syed Kamal in the 1963 film Joker. This ghazal sung by Rushdi, gained popularity amongst music listeners. Rushdi and Jalib again teamed together for Mohammad Ali in the film Khamosh Raho (1964). Rushdi sang the ghazal “Mei Nahi Manta” for the same film and gained Habib Jalib country-wide fame. He recorded a qawwali "Madiney waley ko mera salam kehdena" along with Munir Husain same year.

Actor Nadeem's first film as a leading actor was Chakori (1967). Rushdi recorded four songs for this film in the composition of music director Robin Ghosh.^[18] “Kabhi toe tum ko yaad ayen gi”, “Pyare pyare yar humare” and “Tujhe chahein meri bahein”. Same year, film Doraha and Shehnai were released. He recorded all the songs for these films including “Bhooli hue hoon dastan”, “tumhein kaise bta doon”, “Han issi mor per” (film Doraha) and “Tujhey apney dil se mei kaise”, “Nazaron se haseen hai”, "Dunya mei tumko jeena hai agar" ( film Shehnai).^[19]

In 1968, Rushdi recorded his first ever Bengali song in the film Notun Name Dako of Dhaka titled "Ke Tumi Ele Go", which became a smashing hit in the then East Pakistan. He sang playback hits in the same year like "Ae mere diwaney dil" (film Jahan tum wahan hum), "Socha tha pyar na karein ge" (film Ladla), "Usey dekha usey chaha usey bhool gaye" (film Jahan tum wahan hum), "Teri aankhon ke bheegey sitarey" (film Ma Beta) and many more. Same year, Rushdi recorded a song "Salam-e-mohabbat" for Mohammad Ali in Khawaja Khurshid Anwar's composition.^[20]

Rushdi sang for Waheed Murad in 1969 film Naseeb Apna Apna.^[21] The song “Ae abr-e-kaaram aaj itna baras” brought another Nigar award for him.^[14] The song was composed by Lal Mohammad Iqbal. He also won different awards for songs like "Dil tumko de diya hai" and "Hum se na bigar aye larki". Around the same year, he sang a duet with Mala in the film Baharei phir bhi ayen gi, "Khush naseebi hai meri".

In 1969, the film Andaleeb was released. Ahmed Rushdi recorded all the songs for Waheed Murad in this film. The song “Kuch log rooth ker bhi” was a hit. Its sad version was sung by Noor Jahan. Although he sang for every film hero in Pakistan, his pairing with Waheed Murad proved to be the most popular, in such movies as Armaan (1966); the song "Akele Na Jaana" from that movie in Sohail Rana's composition gained Rushdi another Nigar Award. Well-known hits of Rushdi picturised on Waheed Murad such as "Lag rahi hai mujhey aaj sari faza ajnabi" or "Kuchh loag rooth kar bi" were composed by Nisar Bazmi, the legendary composer for Pakistani movies.^[22] Ahmed Rushdi-Nisar Bazmi pair and Ahmed Rushdi-Sohail Rana combination were two of the most successful singer-music director pairs of Pakistan film music.

The 1970s brought new faces like Alamgir, Akhlaq Ahmed, Ghulam Abbas, A Nayyar etc. But Rushdi remained a leading singer of film industry.^[2] Film Bandagi, Naag Muni and Baazi were released in 1971. Ahmed Rushdi had a playback in all the three films.^[23] He also won several awards for songs such as "Aik albeli si naar" (Naag Muni), "Tum bhi ho ajnabi" (Baazi) and "Poocho na hum ne kis liye" (Intezar). Perhaps, the song below never rang as true as it did after Ahmed Rushdi's demise: "Chore chalay hum chore chalay lo sheher tumhara chore chalay", film, Phir Chand Nikley Ga (1970) music, Sohail Rana.

Rushdi sung four solo songs and one duet for Waheed^[24] in the film Khalish (1972). “Honto pe tera naam”( with Mala), “Kal achanak jo sar-e-rah mili thi”, “Ghussey mei gulabi gaal” and “Pyar hota hai”. Music director was M.Ashraf. Around the same year, he sung for Mohammad Ali in the film Mohabbat. Rushdi recorded three songs in the film including a sad song "Khudara mohabbat na karna". Music director was Nisar Bazmi.

In 1973, he recorded a qawwali “Dil torney waley” for the film Mehboob mera mastana. Ahmed Rushdi also recorded a romantic number ”Teri jabeen se chodhwin ka chand jhankta rahey” (film Nadan) for actor Rehman. He recorded a sad song "Angara mera mann" for film Jaal which was released same year. He was also fond of acting and appeared in thirteen films as an actor including Anokhi (1956), Kaneez (1965), Saat Lakh (1967) and Dekha Jaye Ga (1976). He also composed a music album in singer Mujeeb Aalam's voice.^[25]

In 1974, film Anhoni was released. Waheed Murad and Aliya were in leading roles. Music director Lal Mohammad Iqbal recorded two songs in Rushdi’s voice. “Hai kahan who kali” and a sad number “Mei tujhey Nazar kia doon”. In the same year he sang for actor Shahid in film Dharkan. He recorded a romantic number “Rangat gulabi chehra kitabi” for Shahid.^[26]

In 1975, Ahmed Rushdi recorded “Dil ko jalana hum ne chor diya” (Film Mohabbat Zindagi Hai). This song was picturised on Waheed Murad and gained country wide popularity.^[2] He sung another song “Mashriqi rang ko chor ke” for the same film. He recorded many songs for Pakistan television including “Dil mei tu hai”, "Han issi mor pe" and "Bheegey hue mousam mei". Rushdi was not only singing for films, but he was equally a busy figure for Radio and Television also. He remained a leading singer between 1954 and 1983. He sang for all the famous actors of Pakistan film industry. Rushdi recorded his last song "Ban ke misra ghazal ka" in 1983 for film Hero, which was picturised on Waheed Murad and the song was a hit. He recorded a large number of duets in many languages with Runa Laila, Mala, Naheed Niazi, Noor Jahan, Irene Parveen, Naseem Begum and Naheed Akhtar in his thirty-three-year singing career.^[27][28]

First regular pop singer of South Asia[link]

Ahmed Rushdi is considered to be the first regular pop singer of south asia as he introduced hip-hop, rock n roll, disco and other modern genres in South Asian music and has since then been adopted in Bangladesh, India and lately Nepal as a pioneering influence in their respective pop cultures. Following Rushdi's success, Christian bands specialising in jazz started performing at various night clubs and hotel lobbies^[2] in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Dhaka and Lahore. They would usually sing either famous American jazz hits or cover Rushdi's songs. Rushdi sang playback hits along with Runa Laila until the Bangladesh Liberation War when East Pakistan was declared an independent state.

Because of Ahmed Rushdi, Pakistani music industry has steadily spread throughout South Asia and today is the most popular genre in Pakistan and the neighbouring South Asian countries.^[29] Pop icons like Alamgir and Muhammad Ali Shehki later on followed Rushdi's landmarks in playback singing.

Personal life[link]

Marriage[link]

Ahmed Rushdi got married to Humera on November 30, 1963. His wife died in 1992, nine years after Rushdi's death. He belonged to a Sayyid family (a sacred cast in muslims) and was a religious person. Despite of his popularity and fame, Rushdi never had any scandal in his entire career. He had three daughters. His younger daughter, Rana Rushdi used to sing her father’s songs in his presence which always pleased Rushdi a lot.^{[citation needed]} He was against allowing his daughters to adopt singing as a profession. Ahmed Rushdi and Noor Jahan were highest paid singers in their time but Rushdi did not charge those producers and music directors a single rupee, who could not afford him. Famous music director Lal Mohammad made his entry into Pakistan film industry because Rushdi introduced him to different producers which he disclosed after Rushdi’s death. Likewise, poet Masroor Anwer got his first film as Rushdi insisted the music director Manzoor-Ashraf to give Masroor a chance.

Last years[link]

In early 1980s, Rushdi shifted to Karachi as he was not feeling well and wanted to have a proper heart treatment. He was also singing less for films and film music itself was facing a decline. The 1980s saw a nose-dive in the progress of cinema in Pakistan. Number of cinemas decreased rapidly and people preferred watching television over going to a cinema.^[30] Playback singing that once was popular now struggled to exist and the singers needed a new medium to start afresh. Even then, Rushdi's demand and popularity was still there with the music directors. He opened a music academy in order to teach music and playback singing to youngsters. Ahmed Rushdi never faced downfall as far as his singing career is concerned.

Until the 1970s, Rushdi was one of the leading voices in the subcontinent.^[31] In his last years, a weakened Rushdi, suffering from heart disease, recorded fewer songs on his doctor's advise.

Death[link]

Since 1976, Ahmed Rushdi was a heart patient and his doctors advised him to abstain from singing but Rushdi refused by saying that music was his life. When he had a second heart attack in 1981, he was composing a musical album in the voice of singer Mujeeb Aalam. On the night of April 11, 1983,^[32] he had a third heart attack. He was immediately taken to the hospital but pronounced dead by the doctors. He was 48.^[33] Rushdi was buried at Sakhi Hassan Graveyard, Karachi. His last non film song was "Aaney walo suno" which was a duet with Mehnaz.

On his death, actor Waheed Murad said. "Today I have lost my voice."^[34][35] After Rushdi's death, Waheed Murad as well as other friends and singers had appeared on a show to pay him a tribute; many of those same people appeared on the show six months later, reminiscing about Waheed as he also died.^[36]

Popularity and influence[link]

Ahmed Rushdi has changed the sound of film music in subcontinent and his impact has also been felt to the Indian and Bangaladeshi film industries.^[37] He is widely regarded as one of the greatest singers ever lived in south asia and was effective in every genre of singing including ghazals and qawwalis.^[38] Once music director Nisar Bazmi in an interview said, “Ahmed Rushdi and Mohammad Rafi are amongst those few singers in the subcontinent, whose voices did not form ‘cones’, as they rose and touch the higher notes. Their volumes rose up without getting squeaky!”^[39] Bazmi also quoted the song "Aisey bhi hain meharban" (film Jaisey jantey nahin) to prove that Rushdi was also a master of serious singing. In another interview he said, "I was happy and amazed to find a Chinese group rendering this song on one occasion. People from abroad also sing Rushdi's songs which clearily indicates his popularity and influence.^[40] Indian playback singer Kishore Kumar, being an admirer of Ahmed Rushdi, paid him a tribute at Royal Albert Hall London by singing Rushdi's one of the songs "Aik urran khattola aye ga kisi lal pari ko laye ga".^[41]

Many of his contemporaries compared his music with that of classically trained singers, although Rushdi never had any influences from any classical singer. He is famously known as Magician of voice and his popularity also turned traditional classical singers against him but did not affect his fame and his death is termed as irreparable loss to the industry.^[42] Actor Waheed Murad declared Rushdi's song, "Bhooli hui hoon daastan", his favorite song.^[43] Music directors like M.Ashraf and Nisar Bazmi also hold centaury partnerships with Ahmed Rushdi and they have composed hundreds of songs for him. According to complete songography, M.Ashraf composed 734 songs in 211 films for Rushdi but available figures indicate a composition of 132 songs in 100 films for him. The first film of this pair was Speran in 1961 and the last was Hero in 1983.^[44] Ahmed Rushdi influenced many singers in music industry including A Nayyar, Mujeeb Aalam, Naheed Niazi and Runa Laila.

Awards[link]

Nigar Awards

• 1961 - Best Male Playback Singer for the song "Chand Sa Mukhra Gora Badan" in film Saperan^[14]
• 1962 - Best Male Playback Singer for the song "Gol Gappey Wala" in film Mehtaab^[14]
• 1963 - Best Male Playback Singer for the song "Kisi Chaman Mei Raho" in film Anchal^[45]
• 1966 - Best Male Playback Singer for the song "Akeley Na Jana" in film Armaan^[14]
• 1970 - Best Male Playback Singer for the song "Aey Abr-e-Karam" in film Naseeb Apna Apna^[14]
• 2004 - Life Time Achievement Award^[45]

Graduate Awards

• 1965 - Best Male Playback singer for the song "Mohabbat Mei Tere Ser Ki Qasam" in film Aisa Bhi Hota Hai
• 1967 - Best Male Playback singer for the song "Haan Issi Mor par" in film Doraha
• 1968 - Best Male Playback singer for the song "Kabhi Toe Tumko Yaad Ayen Gi" in film Chakori
• 1969 - Best Male Playback singer for the song "Kuch Log Rooth Kar Bhi" in film Andaleeb
• 1970 - Best Male Playback singer for the song "Lag Rahi Hai Mujhey Aaj Sari Fiza" in film Anjuman

Musawwir Awards

• 1972 - Best Male Playback singer for the song "Meri Jaan Meri Jaan Yehi Zindagi Hai" in film Bandagi
• 1973 - Best Male Playback singer for the song "Hai Kahan Woh Kali" in film Anhoni
• 1975 - Best Male Playback singer for the song "Mashriqi Rang Ko Chor Ke" in film Mohabbat Zindagi Hai
• 1978 - Best Male Playback singer for the song "Tu Saamney Hai Mere" in film Sharmeeli
• 1979 - Best Male Playback singer for the song "Sab Kamron Mein Band Hain" in film Zameer

Other Awards

• 1967 - Best Sad Song Award for "Tujhey Apney Dil Se Mei Kaisey Bhuladoon" in the film Shehnai^[45]
• 1968 - Classic Award for the song "Kiya Hai Jo Pyar Toe" in the film Dil Mera Dharkan Teri^[45]
• 1970 - Silver Screen Award for the song "Chhor Chaley Hum Chhor Chaley" in the film Phir Chand Nikley Ga^[45]
• 1973 - Al-Fankar Award for the song "Mei Tujhey Nazar kya Doon" in the film Anhoni^[45]
• 1975 - Screen Light Award for the song "Dil Ko Jalana Hum Ne Chor Diya" in the film Mohabbat Zindagi Hai^[45]
• 1983 - Rooman Award for the song "Ban Ke Misra Ghazal Ka Chaley Aaona" in the film Hero^[45]
• 2000 - Best Singer Of The Millennium Award^[45]
• 2001 - Legend Award^[45]
• 2004 - Sitara-i-Imtiaz^[46]
• 2005 - Indus TV Indus Music Hall of Fame^[47]

See also[link]

• Pakistan film industry
• Playback singer
• Ghazal
• Cinema of Pakistan
• List of Pakistani film singers
• List of Pakistani ghazal singers

References[link]

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (November 2011)

External links[link]

• Ahmed Rushdi Video on Umer Sharif Site
• Ahmed Rushdi - Detailed Profile
• Ahmed Rushdi at the Internet Movie Database
• Ahmad Rushdi's film songs - Mazhar.dk