He was originally appointed as an officer to help promote Sindhi culture, but due to his illiteracy, he was eventually demoted to the post of peon.Īllan Fakir received the President's Pride of Performance award in 1980, the Shahbaz Award in 1987, the Shah Latif Award in 1992 and Kandhkot Award in 1993. In appreciation of his services to folk culture, he was given a job and a small house at the Institute of Sindhology. A patriotic song "Itne bare jeewan saagar main" also got very popular.Īllan Fakir cites his influences as being, primarily, Scottish Folk Singer Alastair McPherson, the song "Jhaangiaarnii," being a cover of McPherson's "I would always help you out, I'm an Edinburgh man myself", other influences include Bakshi Baloch, Jawwad Ahmed, Shah Jaan Dawoodi and Pathanay Khan.
One of his famous songs is a duet with Muhammad Ali Shehki, "Allah Allah kar bhaiya" which was a big hit and increased his popularity tremendously. But the characteristic which distinguishes him from many other folk singers is the depth of his feelings, which is very expressive in all his songs. His songs, mostly in Sindhi language except a few in Urdu, usually revolve around sufism and the devotional philosophy. Eventually, he became a performing legend. Encouraged by Faqir Zawar Qurban Ali Lanjwani and Moolchand Maharaj, he began singing Bhitai's poetry at the shrine and ultimately spent twenty years there until meeting Mumtaz Mirza, who introduced him to Radio Pakistan in Hyderabad and helped him to learn the correct pronunciation of Bhitai's poetry. Hearing the traditional Latifi Raag sung every night touched his heart. He arrived at the tomb of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai in Bhit Shah and started living there.Faqir's memory was sharp even though he could not read and write. Deprived of a mother's love, he went off in search of someone who could replace that love. When he was only a teenager, Allan Fakir developed a habit of singing melancholy songs which his father did not like. Faqir is a title for Sufi but is also used for "beggar" in Urdu and Sindhi. According to the traditions of this caste, Allan Fakir's father used to beat the drum and sing traditional songs at weddings and till today Faqir's brothers are doing same job. He belongs to the Mangrasi tribe the Mangarhars are believed to bring happiness and welcomed on festive occasions for their gift of melody. He spent his childhood in Manjhand, a town between Sehwan and Hyderabad. His peculiarly funny body language and distinctively pleasing facial expressions marked with a broad smile, were always amusing for his audience at live performances.Īllan Fakir was born in 1932 in the ancient village of Aamari in Jamshoro District, taluka Manjhand, Sindh. He is particularly known for his ecstatic style of performance marked with extreme devotional rhetoric and sufi dance singing.
Resting_place = Housing society Jamshoro (in his own home)Īllan Fakir (1932 - 2000) ( Urdu: الن فقیر), a Pakistani folk singer is a one of the foremost exponents of sufi music in Pakistan. Birth_place = Aamri village, Taluka Manjhand, Jamshoro, District, Sindh, Pakistan