Samina Hasan Syed (1944 – 17 September 2016), was a Punjabi-language singer and

music teacher Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as primary education, elementary or secondary education, secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a res ...

. Her music can be found on https://m.soundcloud.com/saminahasansyed She learnt with great masters like Bhai Chhaila, Ustad Chhottay Ghulam Ali Khan of Qawal Bacha Gharana, to name a few. She recorded her singing lessons with Ustad Chhotay Ghulam Ali Khan over a decade. It was her wish to make these accessible to researchers and practitioners of music and so her daughter, Risham Syed, an eminent Visual artist organized these in her memory on https://khayalmala.org/

Early life and career

Samina was born in

Ferozepur Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who died ...

, Punjab Province, British India in December 1944. She was trained in classical music by the noted Pakistani film composer Feroze Nizami, Bhai Chela and Ustad Chhotay Ghulam Ali Khan. After her training in classical music, she herself taught music at the College of Home Economics, Lahore for over three decades.

Social and cultural activities

Samina Hasan Syed was married to

Najm Hosain Syed Najm Hosain Syed (born 1935) is a Pakistani writer of Punjabi language. He has written poetry and plays in the Punjabi language as well as literary criticism on Punjabi literature in his ''Recurrent Patterns in Punjabi Poetry'' (1968). Early li ...

. Both of them were big enthusiasts for

Punjabi culture Punjabi culture grew out of the settlements along the five rivers (the name ''Punjab'', is derived from two Persian words, ''Panj'' meaning "Five" and ''Âb'' meaning "Water") which served as an important route to the Near East as early as the an ...

Punjabi literature Punjabi literature, specifically literary works written in the Punjabi language, is characteristic of the historical Punjab region of India and Pakistan and the Punjabi diaspora. The Punjabi language is written in several scripts, of which the Sha ...

and the

Punjabi language Punjabi (; ; , ), sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It has approximately 113 million native speakers. Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 80.5 ...

. On a regular basis, they would arrange a weekly meeting at their home in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

which was open to all interested in Punjabi culture. Other common interests the couple had was Punjabi poetry and Punjabi music where Samina along with the guests sang Punjabi classical poetry composed by her husband Najm Hosain Syed.

Death and legacy

She died on 17 September 2016 at the age of 72. Samina Syed was suffering from cancer for some time before her death. She was buried at Baba Shah Jamal graveyard in Lahore, Pakistan. Many prominent personalities of Lahore attended the funeral including

Salima Hashmi Salima Hashmi ( ur, ; born 1942) is a Pakistani painter artist, former college professor, anti-nuclear weapons activist and former caretaker minister in Sethi caretaker ministry. She has served for four years as a professor and the dean of Nat ...

Madeeha Gauhar Madeeha Gauhar (; 21 September 1956 – 25 April 2018) was a Pakistani TV and stage actress, playwright and director of social theater, and women's rights activist. In 1984, she founded Ajoka Theatre where social themes were staged in theat ...

, Zaeem Qadri and the famous Pakistani architect

Nayyar Ali Dada Nayyar Ali Dada ( ur, نیر علی دادا) (born 11 November 1943) is a Pakistani architect.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Syed, Samina 1944 births 2016 deaths Pakistani women singers Punjabi-language singers Pakistani music educators Pakistani women music educators Punjabi people Punjabi women