The singer will now be seen in a new album 

When Altaf Raja sings, nothing can dilute the enthusiasm level of the audience, which transcends into a completely different zone altogether. Yes this is the magic of the Qawwali singer, who became a household name after his album Tum to Thehre Pardesi was released in 1993 and since then he has never looked back.

The singer will now be seen in a new album, which is scheduled to be released in January. The singer is also working on another music album in which he will be seen with Preeti Jhangiani.

Ask him to comment on his feelings about the city and Altaf waxes eloquent, “Nagpur is my place of birth and today, when I see the place after three years (since my last visit), it has undergone tremendous changes in terms of wider roads and tall buildings.

Nagpur will always remain close to my heart as it was here at the dargah of Tajuddin Baba that my mother sought diving blessings for my well-being and today I owe my success to this place. I am certainly not a pardesi to Nagpur.”

His first album also had a strong Nagpur connect. As Altaf says, “The mukhra of the song Tum to Thehre Pardesi was composed by a Nagpur-based poet Zahir Alam and it went on to become one of the favourite songs of those, who had been deceived at any point in life.”

Talking about his struggling phase Raja says, “My parents were also artistes, who wandered from place to place to earn their livelihood and that motivated and challenged me to pursue a career in music and carve a niche for myself.” The singer adds that during the initial days he did riyaz for almost five hours but at this point of time he can only spare about two hours for his riyaz everyday.

When asked out of all the songs he has sung so far, which one is really quite close to his heart, Altaf says, “I have sung so many songs, that selecting one will not only be difficult, but also unfair.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Entertainment> Hindi> Bollywood / TNN / ocotober 30th, 2007