Ustad Manzoor Ali Khan ( sd, استاد منظور علي خان) (1922 – 9 September 1980) was a Pakistani singer belonging to the Gwalior gharana singing style, one of the oldest singing traditions in

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, si ...

. Born in

Shikarpur, Sindh Shikarpur ( sd, شڪارپور and ) ') is city and the capital of Shikarpur District in Sindh province of Pakistan. It is situated about 29 km west of the right bank of the Indus River, Indus, with a railway station, 37 km north-west of ...

, Pakistan, he was the first classical musician of the twentieth century who knew about the regional music of Sindh.

Early life

Manzoor's father had migrated from

Gurdaspur Gurdaspur is a city in the Indian state of Punjab, between the rivers Beas and Ravi. It houses the administrative headquarters of Gurdaspur District and is in the geographical centre of the district, which shares a border with Pakistan. The ...

Punjab, British India Punjab was a province of British India. Most of the Punjab region was annexed by the East India Company in 2 April 1849, and declared a province of British Rule, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British ...

and came to live at

Khairpur Khairpur( Sindhi and ur, ) is a city and the capital of the Khairpur District, in Pakistan's Sindh province. History The Talpur dynasty was established in 1783 by Mir Fateh Ali Khan, who declared himself the first ''Rais'', or ruler of Sindh ...

, Sindh because of the ruling

Talpur Talpur (, bal, تالپورء اۏبادگ) is a Saraiki-speaking Baloch sub-clan of the Hoth tribe settled in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan in Pakistan. The tribe established the Talpur dynasty, which ruled between 1783 and 1843, while a bran ...

s, who were quite fond of his music. In a short period of time, the family shifted to Shikarpur. Manzoor was born in 1922 in

, Pakistan. He studied there up to secondary school level and later moved to

Tando Adam Khan Tando Adam ( ur, ; sd, ٽنڊو آدم) is a city in Sindh, Pakistan. It was formerly under Nawab Shah district (now known as Shaheed Benazir Abad District) until 1955 and later became part of Sanghar District. It is the 57th largest city ...

with his father in 1940.

Musical career

Manzoor Ali Khan took musical lessons from his father, Jamalo Khan and another musician Seendho Khan. His parents took him to musical events in Sindh and Punjab. He was a maestro in singing "Tappa", a kind of classical music, in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. He made various compositions.Book on Manzoor Ali Khan launched
Dawn (newspaper), Published 8 December 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2019 He composed and sang Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai's poetry in all forms. He performed at Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

and then at Hyderabad since 1955, and

Pakistan Television Corporation Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore. Background Historical co ...

center in the same years. Many cassette companies have released the volumes of his programs.

Mother tongue

His mother tongue was Punjabi, however he used to speak and write in Sindhi. His children also received education in Sindhi language.

Awards

Manzoor Ali Khan received several awards. He was honored with the title of "Bahar-e-Moseeqi" by Makhdoom Talib ul Mola at the

Urs Urs (from ''‘Urs'') or ''Urus'' (literal meaning wedding), is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders such as Naqshbandiyyah, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc ...

of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai in 1960.

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 four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

awarded him "Tamgha-e-Husne Karkardagi" (

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 ...

) in 1978.

Death and legacy

He died from a heart attack on 9 September 1980.Classical singer Ustad Manzoor Ali Khan remembered
Dawn (newspaper), Published 9 November 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2019 In December 2010, Sindh Minister for Culture

Sassui Palijo Sassui Palijo ( Sindhi: سسئي پليجو) is a politician and a columnist from Thatta, Sindh, Pakistan. Palijo is currently affiliated to Pakistan Peoples Party, served as a Senator on women's reserved seat from Sindh from 2015 to 2021. She ...

, paying tributes to Manzoor Ali Khan, called him the symbol and identity of Sindhi classical music. Former Chief Minister of Sindh,

Ghous Ali Shah Syed Ghous Ali Shah (Urdu: سید غوث علی شاہ; born 1 January 1934) is a Pakistani politician and jurist. He was Chief Minister of Sindh, Pakistan from 1985–1988 and later the Chief Executive in 1999. He has also remained the Defe ...

was a fan of Manzoor Ali Khan for a long time. He recalled that he could not forget the excellent performance of Manzoor Ali Khan at the wedding ceremony of brother of noted story writer Naseem Kharal. He also said that Manzoor Ali Khan could sing, with equal mastery, poetry of almost all Sufi

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

s of Sindh including Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Manzoor Ali 1922 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Pakistani male singers Gwalior gharana Pakistani classical musicians Pakistani folk singers Pakistani music educators Recipients of Latif Award Pakistani classical singers Sindhi-language singers Singers from Sindh