LAHORE: A veteran classical music singer wellknown in the Indian subcontinent, Malka Pukhraj, died on February 4 after prolonged illness at the age of 90, her family said. She was once the court singer of the Maharaja (ruler) of Kashmir and migrated from there before the 1947 partition of the subcontinent into Pakistan and India.

Pukhraj, who sang in the Hindustani style of classical music that grew out of musical schools spread over a large area of Northern and Central India and what is now Pakistan, settled in the eastern border city of Lahore and earned widespread fame.

She leaves behind two daughters. One of them, Tahira Sayed, is a popular singer.

Agence France Presse