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Folk Singer Alam Lohar Remembered on his 41st Death Anniversary

LAHORE: The 41st death anniversary of the legendary Sufi and folk singer Alam Lohar is being observed across Pakistan today.

The late artist passed away in a road accident back in 1979 and was succeeded by his son Arif, who has himself become a veteran of the Pakistani music industry.

Alam was born in the village of Aaj Koch in Gujarat back in 1928 and began singing from a very early age. In fact, he recorded his very first album when he just 13. But perhaps it was his chimta that got him the most attention.

His instrument of choice was one that no other singer in Pakistan had ever used before and soon enough, Alam became a household name across the country.

In the early days of his career, the Jugni hit maker established his own musical and theatre group and began performing at various festivals and shrines with it. This proved to be a great platform for Alam, who was focused on singing Sufi poetry and verses written by saints.

Saiful Mulook, Boliyan, Tapy, Punjabi Dhory, Mahiya are just some of the most popular works he lent his voice to, alongside the folk tales of Heer Ranjha, Mirza Sahibaan, Sohni Mahiwal and Shireen Farhad, etc.

There was a time when Alam was travelling across Punjab, performing in a different city every night.

Songs such as Jugni, Dilwala Dukhra, Waja Mariyan and many others are still adored by fans across the province, so much so that the government of Pakistan awarded him the Pride of Performance in 1979.

Alam’s death marked the end of the golden era of Punjabi folk music, even though Arif has tried hard to continue the legacy left behind by his superstar father.