Allan Faqir’s death anniversary passes silently

ISLAMABAD – The cultural authorities and organisations in the government and the non-government sectors displayed indifferent attitude on the 10th death anniversary of Allan Faqir, one of the most celebrated folk singers from Sindh.
Allan Faqir – the singer of ‘Humma Humma’ (Allah allah kar bhyyia), a fusion of pop and folk singing, not only took Pakistan to the centre of the world music arena but also led to his co-singer Muhammad Ali Shehki to new heights of popularity in the late 1980s. The recipient of Pakistan government’s coveted medal ‘President’s Pride of Performance’ in 1987 for his excellence in his chosen field of music. Allan Faqir died on July 4, 2000, in a very miserable condition.
His death revealed, once again, the criminal negligence of the Government functionaries, both at federal and provincial level, towards the folk artists and intangible cultural heritage.
The sorry state of affairs continues at the government functionaries mandated to promote folklore and cultural heritage even after Allan Faqir’s death and the other departed souls of folk singers. No information is available about our folk singers and their work on the websites of Lok Virsa (the Institute of Folk and Cultural Heritage), Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA).
Allan Faqir, whose real name was Ali Bakhsh. He was one of the most admired folk singer of the country in his life and even after death.
The last days of his life were extremely miserable. No one turned up to offer adequate medical or financial assistance. After his death we could preserve the intangible folk singing he left behind. Unfortunately, we forgot to remember him on the day when his soul departed, and we could not collect and save the footprints of his life and achievements for the generations to come.
Allan Faqir belonged to the clan of distinguished Faqir singers, who had specialised in the rendition of kafis, waees and doheeras of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai. He was known for his typical Faqir style of dance singing, which brought Sindhi traditional music into the mainstream. His songs are mostly in Sindhi language except a few in Urdu, usually revolve around Sufism and the devotional philosophy.