Pathanay Khan
| Pathanay Khan | |
|---|---|
Pathanay Khan
|
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| Born |
Ghulam Mohammad 1926 Basti Tambu Wali, Kot Addu, Punjab, British India |
| Died | 9 March 2000 Kot Addu, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Nationality | Pakistani |
| Known for | Folk music |
| Awards | Pride of Performance Award in 1979 |
Pathanay Khan (born Ghulam Mohammad; 1926–2000) was a legendary Seraiki folk singer from Pakistan. He mostly sang Kafis or Ghazals (in Seraiki), usually drawing 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).
When he was only a few years old, his father brought his third wife to the family home, so his mother decided to leave his father. She took her young 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 (a spiritual leader's house). The syed's wife looked after him, and advised his mother to change the boy's name because it seemed 'spiritually too heavy' for him. Syed's wife's 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.
Pathanay Khan was very attached to his mother. She took good care of him and tried to get him educated. However, he, like his father Khameesa Khan, spent his time wandering, contemplating and singing. His inherent nature lured him away from school after the seventh standard or grade class in his high school. He began singing, mostly the Kafis of Khwaja Ghulam Farid, the saint of Mithankot. 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 firewood for his mother, who used to make bread for the villagers as a village baker. 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 Khwaja Ghulam 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 end.
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