Iqbal Bano was a Pakistani singer who specialized in ghazal. She is popularly known by her honorific title Malika-e-Ghazal (The Queen of Ghazal) in both Pakistan and India. She was known for her semi-classical Urdu ghazal songs and classical thumris, but also sang easy-listening numbers in the 1950s films. In 1974, she became the recipient of the Pride of Performance award.
Iqbal Bano
The ghazal is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. Ghazals often deal with topics of spiritual and romantic love and may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation from the beloved and the beauty of love in spite of that pain.
An illustrated headpiece from a mid-18th century collection of ghazals and rubāʻīyāt
Amir Khusrow teaching his disciples in a miniature from a manuscript of Majlis al-Ushshaq by Husayn Bayqarah. Amir Khusrow is considered the first Urdu poet
Layla visits Majnun in the wilderness; the story of Layla and Majnun is one of the most famous Arabic tales of unrequited, unconditional love