By: Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti
Kamla Keswani was an Sindhi folk and playback singer. She was one of the popular Sindhi language singers of the subcontinent. Kamla was born on 27 August 1934 in Karachi. Her parents belonged to Sukkur. Her father Gobind Ram Madnani was a telephone operator. She received school education in Sukkur. She was only 13 years old when the British India was divided into India and Pakistan. Like several other Hindu Sindhis, she migrated to India in 1947 and settled first in Jodhpur, then in Bikaner and finally in Jaipur . She continued her education in Jaipur and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Jaipur University. She was interested in music and singing since school age.
She began her singing career from All India Radio. She sang many marriage songs called Sahera or Lada, Sufi kalams and folk songs both in Sindhi and Rajasthani languages. She also sang in marriage parties, social gatherings and musical programs. Famous musician C. Arjun introduced her in Sindhi Cinema as a playback singer. Kamla Keswani died on 9 May 2009 in Jaipur.