Prabha Bharti Biography 
Prabha Bharti was a well-known Indian qawaali and ghazal singer in the post-independent era, 20th century. Her career spanned to around three decades during 1960s-1990s. She was one of the early female qawwali singers of the country. Qawwali is mostly reserved as a form of Sufi music for men. She has released a few albums and records of which she is best remembered for the album, "Rang-e-Qawwali" released in 1978. Rang-e-Qawwali includes some of the iconic songs such as "Chhaap Tilak" and "Mai Ni Mai". Her album, "Prabha Bharti Ghazal & Qawali" was also popular.
Prabha Bharti was one of the early qawwali singers who joined the field at the beginning of post-Independent period, when decline of this genre of music just started to begin. Qawwals, who originally sang devotional music at dargahs and Urs festivals became low in demand after that, and Prabha Bharti was one of the early females who took to qawwali and ghazals. Subsequently the trend of female qawwals became popular. Bollywood also started popularizing this genre of music through film songs.
Prabha Bharti was born into a Hindu family. Yet she became one of the most sought voices of Sufi circles, and she performed in shrines and private functions too. During her peak years she was one of the most sought voices of the big cities like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh etc in the 1970s. She won many qawwali competitions against male qawwals, including Ustad Chhote Ussaf, Nazir Bharati and many others. She also performed to raise funds. During her last years she was away from limelight and died in Andheri in the late 2000s. She has also rendered her voice for a few Bollywood songs.
Published: January 05, 2020
Updated: January 05, 2020
