Beginning
Born in Sylhet, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), in 1952, Runa’s parents wanted her to be a dancer and made her learn Kathak and Bharat Natyam. Singing, she says, she learned by chance. “My elder sister Dina (who passed away in 1976) was learning classical music. I picked up whatever she was taught quite easily and her teacher decided to teach me too.”
It was chance again which led her to stardom. “My father, Syed Mohammed Imdad Ali was a civil servant posted in Karachi. My sister and I went to school there and she was selected to represent the school at an inter-school competition. On the day of the competition, Dina developed a sore throat so my parents made me participate instead. I won the competition and even three years later people remembered my voice and I got a chance to sing two songs in the Pakistani film Jugnu.” Her first song, Gudiya si munni meri bhaiya ki pyari was picturised on a male child artiste and her next, Marna bhi nahin aasan was about unrequited love. “My parents weren't sure if I could pull off a romantic song as I was just 12. The director told me to simulate crying and I really started crying.”

Singing for Hindi films
Her tryst with Indian films came about after a chance meeting with music director Jaidev in Delhi, at a party hosted by businessman and music connoisseur Ashok Khanna. “Jaidevji took me under his wing. He made me sing every kind of song. He even gave me a chance to sing at the inauguration of Doordarshan. I still remember the occasion. Hemant Kumar sang some songs, Dilip saab (Kumar) recited poetry... I was overwhelmed meeting such stalwarts.” 
Jaidev was responsible for such gems as Tumhe ho na ho and Do deewane shaher mein from Gharonda. She remembers Bhupinder, her co-singer in the duet, as an inherently shy person. “He was so soft spoken, so shy and yet made magic at the mike. He used to play the guitar for RD Burman then. Music was his everything. Jaidevji’s compositions weren’t easy. We used to record with live musicians and I was always afraid I’d make a mistake in the last line and have to do it all over again. It was nerve wracking but in hindsight one feels it’s because of all the hard work that went into them that old songs are still remembered.”

The Mangeshkar sisters
Her first recording was with Kalyanji-Anandji for the title song of Ek Se Badhkar Ek. She informs me that Lata Mangeshkar was present at the recording to give her blessings to a new singer. “It was like a dream come true when Lata didi came and blessed me and offered me a bouquet. I couldn't have asked for a better beginning.”
So what about all those rumours we keep hearing which say the Mangeshkar sisters jeopardized her career? She says there is no truth in them. “It wasn't as easy to come to India back then as it is now. That's all there is to it. You had to be in Mumbai to make a career in playback and I simply didn't want to migrate to India.” She mentions that one of her long time friends in Mumbai is one of Lata's nephews, Baijnath (her brother Hridayanath’s son). “He met me once and gifted me a painting he made of me from an old record cover. I wondered how he got a Pakistani record and he said friends helped him out. I was flattered that someone belonging to the Mangeshkar clan was my fan. He knew each and every song of mine and still keeps track of my career. We have been friends for decades now. Lataji calls me every time she hears I'm in town and invites me over for lunch or dinner. Ashaji too has become a close friend after our association with Sur Kshetra. We talk almost daily. I know despite my saying all this tongues will still wag but I can’t put a stop to all rumours.”

India
There has been hue and cry of late by certain sections who want to communalise art and culture against artistes from across the borders. Runa maintains one shouldn’t give in to such politics of hate. “I’ve been coming here since 1974. I was invited here by ICCR to perform in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata and have always been welcomed with open arms. I’ve nothing but love for the people of India. I never felt I’ve come to a different country. She mentions she met Lata during her first tour too. “It was my lifelong ambition to meet Lata didi and I was surprised to see her backstage at one of my rehearsals. She hugged me and sat through the programme as well. Having her in the audience was quite encouraging.”

Bappi Lahri
She shares a close association with Bappi Lahiri too. In fact, Bappida recorded a pop album in her voice called Superuna in London. The singer remembers it all fondly. “We recorded at the Abbey Road Studios, made famous by The Beatles and I think we were the first people from the subcontinent to have done so. It was a spectacular experience. The songs are still popular and I perform them at my shows even now.” The songs were indeed so popular that Bappida used the hit single, De de pyar de in the film Sharaabi (1984). She shows no rancour about it now. “It did pinch me then, as Prakash Mehra (director of Sharaabi) said he would like to retain my voice. I don’t know what happened and why Bappida didn’t call me. It’s still not clear. I’m happy that Ashaji did such a fabulous job. That made up for all the heartache.”  I probe her whether this happened often, that songs promised to her or sung by her were later recorded with other singers. “Not to my knowledge, I think it was a one-off incident,” she comments.

World Record
She was talking about the travails of live recording earlier and hence it is a surprise to learn that she holds the world record for doing the maximum number of recordings in a day. The crooner confirms that it’s indeed the case. “Concorde Records wanted me to rerecord the album Ghazal Aur Geet, which was originally recorded in Karachi. We recorded 30 songs in three days at Western Outdoors. I remember Daman Sood was the recordist. These weren’t live recordings in the true sense. We could take breaks but yes, it was with live musicians. The music wasn’t punched later on, as it is nowadays.”
Runa has also sung versions of Mehdi Hassan’s ghazals, which became quite famous. She attributes this to chance as well. “I learnt music from Pandit Ghulam Qadir, who was Mehdi saab’s elder brother. He gave music to some of his best ghazals and taught me most of them. Hence, the finesse that you see in my rendering of Ranjish hi sahi is because of his blessings.”

Personnel life
She lost her mother Amina Laila some time ago and has yet to come to terms with her absence. “It happened when we were to start shooting for Sur Kshetra in Dubai earlier this year. Gajendra Singh got to know about it and told me I need not attend. Then Boneyji (Boney Kapoor, the producer of the show) called up to offer his condolences and said he’s cancelling the shoot and would only commence when I was ready. Everyone was so nice and supportive. I was touched by it all.”
Today, her personal life revolves around her husband Alamgir, a Bangladeshi actor and her daughter Taani (from an earlier marriage) and her grandchildren, Zain Islam (9) and Aaron Islam (5). She’s excited that Zain, who loves football, has been chosen for a football camp by Arsenal. “He plays really well and if he continues to shine, he might play for them when he grows up,” she beams. She reveals that Taani too is a gifted singer but never took up singing professionally. “Both my grandchildren sing well. In fact, I was humming something and the younger one commented that I was out of tune. His mother shushed him but he was right. I didn’t know the song well and hence was singing off key. That he picked it up at such a young age was surprising.”
She was born in East Pakistan, was educated in Pakistan, settled down in Bangladesh after the creation of the state in 1971, has worked in India and travels the world with her shows. Where does she really belong? “Artistes are like the wind,” she says. “We don’t have fixed abode, fixed roots. Its silly to put us in boundaries. We belong to whoever accepts us and our art. I don’t feel uprooted because I belong to world.”

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