Munir Sarhadi (1931 – May 23, 1980) was a

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

-Pakistani instrumentalist, sarinda player and a

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

. As a

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

, he represented Pakistan in several countries. Munir, in 1978 became the recipient of

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 ...

, a civil award conferred by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...

Early life and career

Munir Sarhadi was born in 1931 at

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

. He was primarily playing the sarinda despite his parents wishing him to play a non-bowed

string instrument String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the ...

. His father refused to teach him the traditional musical instrument in an effort to allow him to play the string instrument besides sarinda. Munir was persistent in his pursuit of sarinda and later became quite good in playing it. He used to perform at many music festivals and music concerts. He was in great demand due to his skills all over Pakistan.

Awards and recognition

Award by the

in 1978.

Death

Munir Sarhadi was passionate about sarinda musical instrument. He didn't earn much from his profession. His only source of income was his job at a broadcast network

Radio Pakistan Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 August ...

. The salary which was being offered to him, was inadequate to fulfill his

medication A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

requirements, and on May 23, 1980, he died in poverty at

, but died in a dignified manner.

References

External links

Munir Sarhadi on sarangi.info music website

1978 deaths 1931 births Musicians from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa People from Peshawar Pakistani folk singers Recipients of the Pride of Performance Sarangi players Pashto-language singers Pashtun singers 20th-century Pakistani male singers {{Pakistan-musician-stub