The song had been sung before by many singers. But this singer had to stop singing in the middle when he opened his moist eyes to a commotion in the auditorium. A person in the audience, who was crying loudly, had torn off his clothes. “Your voice turned me mad my boy,” he would later tell the emerging singer of the valley.
The Doda born, 31, year old singer, Rashid Jahangir has become a favourite among the youth for his melodious compositions.
Raashid was born in a lower middle class family. His father who runs an electronic goods repair shop was the least educated among his siblings, so his only wish was to give the best possible education to all his four children. Though his siblings met the expectations of their father, Rashid couldn’t.
“I hated studies, the only thing I loved was morning prayers, they would ask me to lead the prayers because of my voice. And one of my teachers Mr Daulat Ram would come to our house to give  tuitions, he loved singing and would often tell me to close my books and sing with him,” he says.
Rashid, somehow, passed higher secondary in 1994. He was not sure what he wanted to do with his life. After his brother qualified the state civil services in 1999, Rashid could see his family’s disappointment over his non-serious approach towards studies.
“I couldn’t sleep for nights together, then one of our relatives working in cultural academy told me about Institute of Music and Fine Arts where I could do a graduation course in music. I didn’t know any such institute existed,” Rashid says.
Rashid graduated in music in 2003 and became the first professionally trained singer from Doda area.
His has made many popular music albums: Firaaq was released in 2000, Tanha (2002), Intezaar (2004) and Hasrat (2007). He has  also sung as for many Kashmiri drama serials. In 2005, cultural academy appointed Rashid as Research Assistant.

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