Kabban Mirza

.Kabban Mirza was a renowned name in the Indian household as he was a radio announcer in Vividh Bharti, All India Radio Station in Mumbai. He was born in 1936, in the Bagh Sher Jung area in Lucknow, India. He was from the Sidi Samaj in Lucknow whose ancestral roots were in Africa. This community was brought to Lucknow by then Nawabs as ‘gulam’ or slaves.

Mirza was known for singing Marsiya Noha’s in Lucknow during Moharram. Mirza used to work in Vividh Bharti’s- Hawa Mahal and Sangit Sarita program. Moreover, he was famous as an anchor for Chhaya Geet, a program on Vividh Bharti at 10:00 pm of old Hindi songs. People adored his heavy voice when he used to say, ‘Chhaya Geet sunne walon ko Kabban Mirza ka aadab.’ (hello from Kabban Mirza to the listeners of Chhaya Geet). He also featured as a singer for Bollywood film songs. He left an impression with his songs ‘Aaye Zanjeer Ki Jhankar’ and ‘Tera Hijr Mera Naseeb Hai’ in the movie Rajia Sultan (1983). The movie starred famous Hema Malini Hema Malini is perhaps the only dream girl of the >> Read More... and Dharmendra, however, Kamal Amrohi Syed Amir Haider Kamal Naqvi, better known as Kama >> Read More... the director of the film could not find any voice among the popular singers that could suit Dharmendra’s until he auditioned Mirza. According to Amrohi, Mirza’s voice complemented Dharmendra’s character, Yaqub. Mirza’s other tracks include ‘Iss Pyar Ki Basti Mein’ from the movie Sheeba but he was not given recognition for it and ‘Aaj Unke Paye-E-Naaz Pein’ in Captain Azaad (1964). Later, he refused singing offers as his radio work came along. Mirza was awarded the Golden Voice Award by Vividh Bharti for his service and resonant voice. He had five children and one of his sons M.Imtiyaz worked at Radio Asia as a broadcaster. Kabban Mirza who was well-known for his voice unfortunately lost it to the cancer of the larynx. His medical expenses were taken care of by the government and he passed away in 2003.