Abida Parveen (Urdu: عابدہ پروینborn 20 February 1954),[2] is a Sunni Muslim sufi singer, composer and musician. Her singing and music has earned her many accolades, and she has been dubbed as the 'Queen of Sufi music'. She is also a painter and entrepreneur being a business woman from Pakistan.
Born and raised in Larkana into a Sindhi Sufi family, she was trained by her father Ghulam Haider who was a famous Singer and Music teacher. She plays Pump organ, Keyboard and Sitar. Parveen started performing in early 1970s and came into global prominence in the 1990s. Since 1993, Parveen has toured globally, performing her first international concert at Buena Park, California.[3] She had performed in Churches also several times. Parveen also features in Pakistan's popular musical show Coke Studio and was a judge on the pan-South Asia contest show Sur Kshetra[4] alongside Runa Laila and Asha Bhosle hosted by Ayesha Takia. It also features Atif Aslam and Himesh Reshammiya. She had appeared in various Indian and Pakistani Music reality shows including Pakistan Idol, Chhote Ustaad and STAR Voice of India. Being the Sufi sensation she is among The 500 Most Influential Muslims of the world. With the power to induce hysteria in her audience Parveen is a "Global Mystic Sufi Ambassador". Since last few years, she sings a song for Pepsi ad in the month of Ramadan and also collaborated with Atif Aslam once in it.
Parveen is referred as one of the world's greatest mystic singers.[5] Parveen is reportedly among highest paid singers in Pakistan.[6] She sings mainly ghazals, Thumri, Khyal, Qawwali, Raga (raag), Sufi rock, Classical, Semi-classical music and her forte, Kafis, a solo genre accompanied by percussion and harmonium, using a repertoire of songs by Sufi poets.[7] Parveen sings in Urdu, Sindhi, Saraiki, Punjabi, Arabic and Persian.[8][9][10][11] She had also sung a famous song in Nepali language called "Ukali Orali Haruma" by Nepali singer Tara Devi in a concert in Kathmandu, Nepal which was attended by Govinda. In 2017, she was designated a 'Peace Ambassador' by SAARC.
Parveen is best known for her songs in bloomy loud voice Yaar ko Humne from the album Raqs-e-Bismil and Tere Ishq Nachaya which is a rendition of Bulleh Shah's poetry.[12] Pakistan's second highest civilian award the Hilal-e-Imtiaz has been bestowed upon her by the President of Pakistan for 2012.[13]
