Urdu
Urdu (;"Urdu" '' Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
i singing group of three sisters, Nerissa, Beena and Shabana Benjamin. They were introduced to Pakistani showbiz by a notable Pakistani
sitar
The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...
player Javed Allah Ditta.
Singing style
Usually they sang in choruses-singing together in performances on
Pakistan Television
Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore.
Background
Historical co ...
in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They achieved immense popularity in both Pakistan and neighboring regions of
North India
North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...
in what began to be referred to as the ''Benjamin Sisters Phenomenon''., Retrieved 9 March 2019 They were introduced to showbiz by Javed Allah Ditta, a notable sitar player. Victor Benjamin, their father, a skillful player of the
xylophone
The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in ...
encouraged his daughters to sing. They then joined the Sunday School choir at The Christ Church - this was all the musical training that they had received.
The Benjamin Sisters first participated in various music learning programs aired on
Pakistan Television
Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore.
Background
Historical co ...
from 1968 to 1987. These programs were conducted by
Sohail Rana
Sohail Rana (born 31 March 1938) is a Pakistani music composer for films and television. He was introduced by actor Waheed Murad in Pakistan film industry and gained popularity when singer Ahmed Rushdi sang his compositions in such films as ...
; a prominent music director of Pakistan, and they were aimed at educating children about music. The sisters usually sang Punjabi and
Urdu
Urdu (;"Urdu" '' The three sisters sang in a synchronized way, in a "single voice". The sisters later achieved further fame after the release of the patriotic national songs of Pakistan, such as the ''Iss parcham kay saye taley, hum ek hain'', ''Ay roohe quaid aaj ke din ham tujh sey wada kartey hain'', ''Khayal rakhna khayal rakhna'' etc. which they sang during the 1980s.
Family background
The Benjamin Sisters are from a Pakistani Christian family.
In 1987, one of the three sisters, Nerissa, got married and the Benjamin Sisters Group disbanded at the peak of their popularity. As of November 2011, Nerissa teaches at St. Patrick's High School in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
and Beena works as a voiceover artist and a VJ. Whereas, Shabana Kenneth is a housewife. Nerissa has two sons and one daughter (Melissa, Chris and Ashlin) while Beena has been blessed with a daughter (Alysia). Shabana has two sons and a daughter as well (Sherwin, Victor and Mary).
Pakistani rock
Pakistani rock is a variety of rock music that is largely produced in Pakistan. Pakistani rock incorporates elements of both British–American rock and Pakistani classical music.
Since the 1980s, Pakistani rock has had its own distinctive el ...
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Music of Pakistan
The Music of Pakistan ( ur, , lit=pákistáni mosíqi) includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Middle Eastern, and modern-day Western popular music influences. With these multiple ...
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Pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...