Suraiya Multanikar (born 1940) is a Pakistani classical and folk singer, celebrated above all for her renditions of Kafi and her deep association with the city of Multan, whose name she carries as her stage title. As a child she had no family member to train her; she taught herself by listening to and copying film songs, before becoming a formal disciple of the sarangi player and Delhi gharana classical vocalist Ghulam Nabi Khan, known as Fauji Khan, a strict and demanding teacher.
began broadcasting from Lahore Radio at just fifteen years old, singing compositions by Niaz Hussain Shami and Abdul Haq Qureshi, and went on to perform from Radio Karachi and Radio Dhaka as well. At nineteen, she performed for President Ayub Khan. Though primarily known for classical, semi-classical and kafi singing, she also had a brief career as a playback singer, recording “Bare Be Murawwat Hain Yeh Husn Walay” for the 1966 film Badnaam.
Over her long career she received numerous honours, including the Ghulam Farid Award on several occasions and the President’s Pride of Performance medal in 1986, followed by the Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2008 and a lifetime achievement award from Radio Pakistan in 2006. In recognition of her decades of service, a studio at Multan’s Radio Pakistan station was named in her honour. Her youngest daughter, Rahat Multanikar, has continued the family’s musical legacy as a folk singer in her own right.
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