Aima Baig
by Ayesha binte Rashid
Before she was known to the world, Aima Baig’s first fan was her mother who was also, for a lot of her life, the only person who had heard her sing. Aima was quiet and shy, an unusual little girl who kept to herself and lived inside her imagination. Her best friend was a wooden plank — sometimes a doll, sometimes a mic, shapeshifting to fit her fancies. Little Aima and her wooden friend lived in a world of her creation, where her singing voice was their secret.
While a secret passion, Aima’s love for music was passed down from her parents, both of whom she describes as “music freaks”. In his youth in the U.A.E, Aima’s father used to play in a band and, while this became a serious pursuit for a time, eventually he chose a path in engineering over his musical dreams. Even then, a true musician at heart, her father enjoyed serenading his wife and children with ghazals in a voice that Aima continues to find beautiful. “I’m his hidden fan. I don’t tell him because if I do he’ll start singing and once he starts, he won’t stop,” she laughs.
It was through her mother that Aima discovered the songs that would make
her dance and swing. Aima recollects memories of her mother — regardless of
what she was doing, her mother would stop and listen when ABBA’s Mamma Mia
played on the radio. “No matter who she was scolding, Amma would
stop when the song came on,” Aima recalls fondly, “and go right back to
scolding as soon as it would end.” Exposed to this diversity of musical
tastes at home – Ghulam Ali and ABBA under one roof – Aima began to find
that she enjoyed exploring the tonalities in her own voice.
In school, Aima would see other students recite hamds and naats, listening carefully to them during assemblies, caught by how soulful they were. Her shyness kept her from volunteering for these activities, so she contented herself with regular performances in her bedroom. Comfortable in the seclusion of her room, confident in the belief that no one, even her family, could hear her, Aima would spend her afternoons singing along to her favorite songs.
Unbeknownst to Aima, she had a secret audience right in the next room, listening to her uninhibited singing. Her voice would drift through the windows to the adjoining kitchen and into her mother’s ears, as she regularly cooked in the afternoons. One day, after a particularly soulful solo rehearsal, Aima ventured out into the house and encountered her mother, who revealed that she had been privy to Aima’s secret all along.
It is often said that a mother knows how best to speak their child’s language and, looking back at that moment, Aima reflects that her mother had known exactly how to draw her out of the comfort of her shell. Very matter-of-factly, without showering her with praise that she would shy away from, Aima’s mother asked her to sing. Aima remembers singing Vital Signs’ Aitebaar for her. And instantly, a pact was made. A secret was established between mother and child — for years, no one knew the little girl could sing except her mother.
As the years passed, Aima decided to take a chance on herself. In college, Aima performed for the first time in front of an audience in a college competition and she won. She went on to study film and television in university — it was here that she began to discover avenues to explore her voice. This led her to the realization that the talent she possessed for singing was real, possible, and something she needed to pursue further — she began her career as a playback singer.
Aima’s mother passed away two years ago after a six-year-long fight with cancer. Aima remembers fondly how lively and brave her mother had been all the way through to the end. Aima had only just entered the music industry and one of her early projects was a soundtrack of a drama serial — it was a rendition of Vital Sign’s Aitebaar. When it was recorded, Aima took the recording home to her mother, who was bedridden, weakened and frail. She lay on the bed with her eyes closed as Aima played the song for her and, as it ended, she opened her eyes and smiled up at her daughter: “I told you this song would suit you. I’ve always loved this song most in your voice.”
The next day, Aima celebrated her birthday with her mother and the day after that, her mother left the world. Aima talks about that moment, how her mother opened her eyes and smiled up at her, “I can never forget that moment. I had the best moment with her as she left.”
In 2017, Aima won Best Female Singer for her vocals on Kalabaaz Dil from Lahore Se Aagey’s soundtrack. A social media video shows excited Aima addressing her fans after the show: “I’m so thankful and I’m so happy right now,” she says, “and I really miss my mother.” And she truly is happy – she has just shared the stage with Atif Aslam, won what is the first of multiple awards, shown the world the face behind her voice – a voice that her mother listened to secretly, as she cooked in the kitchen during the afternoons.