Ritu Jha–
The man with the silken voice is no more, leaving San Francisco Bay Area’s Indian American community and venture capitalists in mourning for a bygone era. The passing of ghazal maestro Pankaj Udhas on February 26 in Mumbai has left diehard fans around the world in inconsolable grief.
A mere mention of “Chitthi Aayi Hai”, his most popular Bollywood song from the 1986 movie Naam, leaves the Indian diaspora in tears, longing for a journey back to their motherland.

Venktesh Shukla, founder and general partner at Monta Vista Capital, recalled attending one of his concerts in the Bay Area. It was at the Naaz Theater in Fremont, California, Shukla remmebered. “It was in the early 1990s, and he was one of the stars of the era when Ghazal was the dominant style of music,” Shukla told indica.
“Along with Jagjit Singh, Ghulam Ali and Mehdi Hasan, he was one of the four stars of that era. He carved an identity independent of these greats with his distinctive style of soulful singing and his choice of ghazals. And… of course, he will always be remembered for ‘Chitthi Aayi Hai.”
Born in Gujarat in 1951, Pankaj Udhas was the youngest of three brothers — Manhar and Nirmal, both singers, being the other two — and was one of the most recognized voices of that era which was otherwise dominated by Bollywood singers like Kishore Kumar, Amit Kumar, Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan, Suresh Wadkar, SP Balasubrahmanyam, etc. His independent albums — Aahat (debut), Aafreen, Mu-ka-rar, Nabeel, Nayaab, Tarannum, Rubayee, etc — competed for sales with the biggest Hindi film albums of the time. Even when MTV launched in India, he adapted to the new generation and sang pop songs to appeal to the next generation. And succeeded.
Some of his most famous songs include, ‘Chandi jaisa rang’, ‘Aap jinke kareeb hote hain’, ‘Thodi thodi piya karo’, ‘Ek taraf uska ghar’, ‘Niklo na benaqaab’, ‘Ghungroo toot gaye’, ‘Aaj phir tumpe pyaar aaya hai’, etc, and have enthralled multiple generations of listeners.
Vish Mishra, venture capitalist and currently chairman of AI-driven healthcare firm Velmeni, said, “Yes, I have thoroughly enjoyed it his art! I also got to meet his cousin, Pradeep Udhas of KPMG who I got to know very well. Every time he (Pankaj Udhas) came to the US, we had him sing. I am sure Pradeep is composing a song in his honor!”

Mishra added, “Pankaj took the ghazal to new heights. He sure will be missed.”
So popular was he in the US that he was given honorary citizenship of Lubbock, Texas and and a former Jersey City mayor honored him with the Indian Arts award.
Jay Singh, a concert host in the San Francisco Bay Area under the banner TEG Live and Bright Brain Production, got a call at 2 am Pacific Time, about Udhas’ demise. “I could not sleep after that,” Singh told indica over the phone. “I then called his daughter Nayab, who manages his concerts to convey my condolences. He was a simple down-to-earth person.”
Singh recalled that he has done three tours with Pankaj Udhas in the US between 2016 until 2020. “He was on a US and Canada tour in 2020 when Covid hit and he had to fly back to India,” Singh said. “We were in New York with his wife and that was the last time I met him (in 2020).”
Singh said he always referred to Udhas as “Boss”. “Burberry was his favourite brand, and he would always be dressed in that. Burberry was his favourite perfume, too. We were planning an August-September US 2024 tour… I feel sad he passed away too early.”

Pakistani-origin concert host Shahab Siddiqui, who operates under the banner S& R Entertainment, also called Udhas down to earth, humble, and very focused. “His work needs no introduction, so talented was he as a ghazal singer,” Siddiqui told indica.
“This is a big loss for people who love ghazals. Poetry when it comes in the shape of a song or a ghazal gets popular. Nowadays, people hardly read poems. He agreed with me. Coming from Pakistan to the US, the first show I attended in the US was of Pankaj Udhas in 1985.”
Siddiqui said he “loves all ghazal singers but Pankaj Udhas was one of my favorites.” Siddiqui came to the US for his MBA degree. “Both Indian and Pakistani roommates used to replay cassettes over and over again. “Chitthi Aayi Hai was played so many time that our cassette tape snapped!”
One of his great attributes, Siddiqui said, was that both he and his wife never created any fuss, even when things didn’t go their way. “His last show in the US made a financial loss as only 150 people were allowed in the hall due to Covid. He lost a lot of money in 2020. But he never ever complained, and always kept smiling.”