Alam Lohar ( pa, ) was a prominent Pakistani
Punjabi folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
singer.
[ He is credited with creating and popularising the musical term ]Jugni
Jugni is an age-old narrative device used in Punjabi folk music. It is the traditional music of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Jugni is sung at Punjabi weddings in India, Pakistan, US, Canada, Australia and UK. In folk music, i ...
.
Early life and career
Alam Lohar was born in 1928 in Achh, near Kotla Arab Ali Khan
Kotla Arab Ali Khan ( ur, کوٹلہ ارب علی خان) is a town in Pakistan. The town is located at 32°51'05N 74°04'20E and is situated near the border with Azad Kashmir and Punjab, Pakistan. Kotla Arab Ali Khan is the Union Council -99 of ...
, Gujrat Tehsil
Gujrat Tehsil ( ur, ) is a tehsil located in Gujrat District, Punjab, Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and de ...
, Gujrat District of Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
, British India. He was born into a family of blacksmiths
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...
. As a child, Lohar read ''Sufiana Kalaam'', a collection of Punjabi stories and poetry and started singing from a childhood age. His family and children now live all around the world with most of his children in the UK.[
Alam Lohar modified a new style of singing the Punjabi Vaar, an epic or folk tale which made him popular when he toured villages and towns in the Punjab region. He is famous for his rendition of ]Waris Shah
Waris Shah ( pa, ; ; 1722–1798) was a Punjabi Sufi poet of the Chishti order, known for his contribution to Punjabi literature. He is primarily known as the author of ''Heer Ranjha'' .
Background
Waris Shah was born in Jandiala Sher Khan ...
's ''Heer'' along with other songs such as Saif ul Maluk. He recorded his first album at the age of 13 and throughout his career he accomplished 15 Gold Disc LP's (record sales) for the following with mainly EMI/HMV Pakistan and other regional companies within Pakistan: Jugni (1965), Saif ul Mulook (1948), Qissa Yusuf Zulaykha (1961), Bol Mitti de Bawa (1964), Dilwala Dukhra (1975). In the memory when he met with an accident and received an injury at leg and call for help to people but no one came to help, he created a lyrics.... Wajan Mariyan Bulaya (1977), Qissa Mirza Sahiban (1967), Qissa Hirni (1963), Maa Da Pyaar (1971), Heer (1969), Qissa Sassi Pannu (1972), Qissa Baraa Maa (1974), Jis Din Mera Vayaah (1973), Qissa Dhulla Bhatti (1959), Mirza De Maa (1968) .[Folk singer Alam Lohar remembered]
Pakistan Today (newspaper), Published 4 July 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2018
In his childhood he used to read Sufi poetry
Sufi literature consists of works in various languages that express and advocate the ideas of Sufism.
Sufism had an important influence on medieval literature, especially poetry, that was written in Arabic, Persian, Turkic and Urdu. Sufi doctr ...
(sufiana kalaam), Punjabi folk stories and participate as a young child in local gatherings expressing a vocal only art form in reading passages of great poets. From many of the gatherings out of the rural background, rose a great singer that could influence his audience with elements of joy, peace, happiness and sadness. Then he started going to festivals and gatherings on a regular basis and with these performances, he rose to become one of the most listened to singers in South Asia during the 1970s.[
In the 1970s, Alam Lohar started to tour different countries including United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, United States and Germany to entertain the South Asian communities living in those countries.]['My Mothers Aspirations', Muhammed Salim P.g. 122–134, 2011, ]
Death
Alam Lohar died in an accident near Sham ki Bhattian on 3 July 1979 when a heavily loaded truck collided with his vehicle because the truck failed to overtake his car.[ He was buried at the outskirts of ]Lalamusa
Lala Musa (; ur, , pa, ), is a city located in the Gujrat District of the Punjab province, Pakistan with a population of 91,500 in 2018.
History Toponymy
Lala Musa is a combination of two nouns which mean Brother Musa with ''Lala'' (from v ...
on GT Road in Pakistan. After his death, the President of Pakistan Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...
honoured Alam Lohar with Pakistan's highest civil award for arts and theatre the Pride of Performance
The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...
Award in 1979.[
]
Legacy
Alam Lohar's death was unexpected, many singers in Pakistan and India including Lal Chand Yamla Jatt
Lal Chand Yamla Jatt (28 March 1910 – 20 December 1991) was a noted Indian folk singer in the Punjabi-language. His trademark was his soft strumming of the tumbi and his turban tying style known traditionally as "Turla". Many consider him to ...
, Noor Jehan
Noor Jehan ( Punjabi: ) (born () Allah Rakhi Wasai ; 23 September 1926 – 23 December 2000; sometimes spelled Noorjehan),Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema,'' British Film Institute, Oxford University Pres ...
, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ( pa, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997) was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. He was primarily a singer of qawwali — a form of Sufi devotional music. Sometimes ...
expressed sadness on the passing of Alam Lohar in a television broadcast on the 10th anniversary of Alam's death. One of Alam Lohar's sons namely Arif Lohar
)
, native_name_lang = ur
, birth_name =
, alias =
, birth_date =
, origin = Punjab, Pakistan
, instrument = Chimta
, genre = Punjabi Folk music
, occupation = Vocalist, musician
, ...
followed the tradition of his father and is also regarded as a famous folk singer in Pakistan.[ Throughout the period of the 1950s and until his death in 1979, he had dominated folk singing in Pakistan and was a major singer in Punjabi and Sufi singing worldwide. In many rural villages the local traditional people have called him 'Sher-e-Punjab' (Lion of Punjab) or 'Heerah' meaning diamond.][
Some of Alam Lohar's songs have achieved critical acclaim and have contributed to the music and culture of the Punjab, most notably Jugni, Bol Mitti De Baweya, Mirza Sahiban (he was the main Punjabi singer to bring this story into a song format singing in a very distinct style – Jhori (double flute) & Chimta with a high pitch vocal) Wajan Mariyan Bulaya, Saif-ul-mulook, Dil Wala Dukhra and Shahbaz Qualander (Dhamaal). Alam Lohar is regarded as one of Pakistan's iconic performers who still remains popular in the region.][Profile of Alam Lohar on EMI Pakistan website]
Retrieved 19 March 2018
In memory of Alam Lohar the Government of Pakistan has named a road after him which runs from his birth village Aach to the main Grand Truck Road which is known as 'Alam Lohar Road'.
In memory of Alam Lohar, there is a visual theatre depiction of him performing which is on display at the Lok Virsa Museum
Heritage Museum ( ur, ), also known as Lok Virsa Museum is a museum administered and managed by Lok Virsa - National Institute of Folk & Traditional Heritage. It is a museum of history and culture in Islamabad, Pakistan, located on the Shakarpa ...
in Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
.
![Alam Lohar 1 (3132092642)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Alam_Lohar_1_%283132092642%29.jpg)
References
External links
*
Alam Lohar Profile – Folk Punjab website
Alam Lohar's performance on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lohar, Alam
1928 births
1979 deaths
Punjabi people
People from Kharian
Pakistani folk singers
Punjabi-language singers
Recipients of the Pride of Performance
Pakistani playback singers
20th-century Pakistani male singers