Meet Mai Dhai, the 105-year-old Pakistani singer, who was featured on the world's cultural hub, Times Square Billboard. Here's everything you need to know about the iconic folk singer.
Mai Dhai is the name that is doing rounds on every single social media platform at the moment. From Instagram to X (formerly known as Twitter), Mai Dhai has become an inspiration for every woman around the globe. For the uninitiated, on June 22, 2024, Spotify Pakistan's official Instagram handle posted a picture of New York's Times Square. In one of the giant billboards, we can spot the smiling picture of Mai Dhai, who is Spotify's Ambassador of the month for the 'EQUAL Pakistan' campaign.
Spotify Pakistan's Instagram post featuring Mai Dhai on Times Square Billboard broke the internet as people across the globe started searching for her on the internet. For the uninitiated, Mai Dhai is a legendary classical singer, who hails from Pakistan's Tharparkar, which is in the Sindh province. She is often considered as one of the greatest singers in the history of Pakistan. In 2017, Mai Dhai won the Best Playback Singer award at Nigar Awards for the film, Ho Mann Jahaan.
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Mai Dhai was born on January 1, 1919, in the Barmer district of Rajasthan into the Manganiar community. Right from an early age, she was exposed to folk music, courtesy of the fact that her mother, Khand Bai was a renowned folksinger of her time. Mai Dhai's mother, Khand Bai was famous for transforming rain melodies into songs of detachment and mourning rhymes into marriage songs. During the partition, Mai Dhai's family moved to Pakistan's Thar from Rajasthan.
Once, in an old interview with Images Dawn, Mai Dhai shared that she used to accompany her mother to local weddings, which is why those lyrics and tunes got stored in her head. Mai Dhai belongs to the Muslim singer community, Manganhar, which is spread out both in Pakistan and India.
As she grew up, Mai Dhai continued in the footsteps of her mother, Khand Bai and started performing at local events. She also formed a folk band named, Mai Dhai Band, with Amal Shab, a harmonium player and Muhammad Fakir, a dhol player.
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It was in 2013 when Mai Dhai's band performed at Lahooti Live Sessions, which was produced by the famous band, The Sketches. It was her constant appearances at Lahooti Live Sessions that helped her catch the attention of the SXSW Music 2015 Global Program.
When Mai Dhai performed at City University's Graduate Centre in New York City, she became the first woman from the Manganiyar tribe to perform on the international stage. It was in 2015, when Mai Dhai became a famous figure across Pakistan after she made her debut at Coke Studio Pakistan.
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In her debut season of Coke Studio Pakistan, Mai Dhai sang two songs, Aankharli Pharookai and Kadi Ao Ni, with Karam Abbas Khan and Atif Aslam, respectively. Courtesy of her immense success with Coke Studio Pakistan, Mai Dhai was announced as Spotify's Brand Ambassador of the Month on June 6, 2024. It was a massive moment for the Pakistani singer to become the brand ambassador of a global music streaming platform of Spotify's stature.
For the uninitiated, EQUAL Pakistan is an initiative started by Spotify with the aim of promoting female artists on an international level. The 105-year-old singer has been singing since the year 1960, and after more than 60 years, she is finally getting her due, which speaks volumes about her love for music. We hope Mai Dhai continues to make her mark on the international stage with her soulful melodies in the future.
We hope Mai Dhai's incredible success inspires young aspiring singers across the world, who are working hard to make it big.
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