The acclaimed Sindhi folk singer Jalal Chandio was remembered on his death anniversary by thousands of people both on social media and in his home town, Phull.
The 22secind death anniversary of Jalal Chandio, one of the most popular singers of the past in Sindh was held on Tuesday. The singer Chandio passed away on January 10, 2001 while undergoing kidney treatment at Civil Hospital in Karachi. Jalal Chandio who ruled the hearts of music lovers mostly people from rural areas for around four long decades was paid tributes for his unique contribution towards the music of Sindh. Thousands of people from across the globe took to Twitter and paid rich tributes to him. The hashtag of Jalal Melo was used by several thousand tweeps to pay tributes to late singers.
The singer Jalal Chandio, who was given the title of ‘the singer of the century, by eminent journalist late Rasheed Rajar, unlike his other contemporary singers had preferred to adopt the unique style of singing and he mostly sang the poems of the unknown poets and this immortalized their poetic work. Chandio also sang the poetry of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Sachal Sarmast, Khawja Ghulam Fareed, Baba Bulleh Shah and many other Sufi poets. During the peak of Sindhi nationalism in the 80s, Jalal sang nationalist songs as well. With his distinct style of musical performance, Jalal Chandio was a prominent folk singer among the rural masses of Sindh over the past four decades.
He contributed and popularised the peculiar tradition and style of singing by using the Yaktaaro (rod-like one-string instrument) and Chappryun (hand clappers), a style that was already popular at Sufi Shrines. Chandio further developed this style and introduced it to the genre of folk music. Born in 1944 in the tiny town of Phull in Naushahro Feroze district, Jalal Chandio was inclined towards music from an early age. His father sent him to learn to tailor, but young Chandio’s soul forced him towards singing in a unique. He used to listen to songs on the radio and visit the annual festivals held at saints’ shrines of the saints an integral part of rural Sindhi society and culture.
During the ’70s, Jalal Chandio debuted as a novice singer, soon becoming popular with his vocal style, performance, selection of expressive poetry, narration of romance and use of instruments that later became associated with him for his whole singing career. With his powerful voice and poetic expressions, he became a trendsetter in Sindhi folk music. His immense popularity among the rural parts of Sindh could well be judged by the fact that his fans used to fix the dates of the marriage ceremonies of their loved ones after confirming his participation of the late singer.
