Pathanay Khan (real name: Ghulam Muhammad; 1926 - 2000) was a great folk singer from Pakistan. His singing style was mostly Kafi or Ghazal, and were largely based on the Sufi poetry of Khwaja Ghulam Farid and Shah Hussain. He was born in 1926 in the village Basti Tambu Wali, situated in the heart of…
Pathanay Khan (real name: Ghulam Muhammad; 1926 – 2000) was a great folk singer from Pakistan. His singing style was mostly Kafi or Ghazal, and were largely based on the Sufi poetry of Khwaja Ghulam Farid and Shah Hussain. He was born in 1926 in the village Basti Tambu Wali, situated in the heart of the Thal Desert, several miles from Kot Addu (Punjab).
Life
Pathanay Khan was very attached to his mother. She took good care of him and tried to educate him. However, he, like his father Khameesa Khan, spent his time wandering, contemplating and singing. His nature lured him away from school after the seventh class/standard. He began singing, mostly the Kafis of Khwaja Ghulam Farid, the saint of Bahawalpur. His first teacher was Baba Mir Khan, who taught him everything he knew. Singing alone did not earn him enough, so the young Pathanay Khan started collecting dry logs for his mother, who used to prepare bread for the villagers. This enabled the family to earn a very modest living. It is said that remembering those days brought tears to his eyes and he believed that it was his love for God, music, and Khawaja Farid that gave him strength to bear the burden. Pathanay Khan adopted singing as a profession in earnest after his mother’s death. His singing had the capacity to bewitch his listeners, and he could sing for hours on.
When he was only a few years old, his father brought his third wife home, so his mother decided to leave his father. She took her son along and went to Kot Addu to stay with her father. When the boy fell seriously ill, his mother took him to a syed’s house. The syed’s wife looked after him and his mother to change his name because it seemed too heavy for him. Her daughter commented that he looked like Pathana (in that region, a name symbolising love and valour), and so from that day onwards he was known as Pathanay Khan. His mother credited the new name for saving the child’s life.
Achievements
He was given the President’s Pride of Performance Award.
Death
Pathanay Khan died after a protracted illness at his native town of Kot Addu on Thursday March 9, 2000. His funeral was largely attended by people including poets, intellectuals, lawyers, educationalists and district officials. He was laid to rest at his native graveyard in Kot Addu.
Songs (MP3 Audio)
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