Along with former Prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto, December 27 also marked 26th death anniversary of popular Sindhi folk singer Abdul Raheman Mughal who gained recognition as Sarmad Sindhi.
The cruelty of destiny deprived Sindh of one of it’s melodious voices in an unfortunate way on 27 December 1997 when Sarmad Sindhi lost his life in a road accident near Thatta.
An engineer turned singer Sarmad mesmerized music buffs of Sindh during 80s and 90s through his melodious and God-gifted voice. He was born in Pariyalo town of district Khairapur in 1958 in middle-class family.
During his days at school and College he would sing songs at different academic events but was awaiting a mega opportunity that came his way when he was introduced on Radio Pakistan by Kausar Buriro and on Pakistan Television by it,s director Sami Baloch. Sarmad then never looked back and used these two mediums to earn unparalleled fame across the country by singing songs in Sindhi, Saraiki and Urdu languages.
In 1980 during the dictatorial regime of General Zia ul Haq he sang songs to attract masses for Movement for Restoration of Democracy.
His voice played a vital role in fostering nationalist politics in Sindh. Besides that he was also famous amongst common folk of Sindh as his songs were often played by tractor drivers while cultivating barren lands late night.
He sang poetry of prominent Sindhi poets including Sheikh Ayaz, Ustad Bukhari, Ghulam Hussain Rangrez, Haleem Baghi and Mama Juman Darbadar. In recognition of his services he was bestowed with several titles and awards including Victor Arra of Sindh and Sindh Jo Bechal.
His biography Sindh Jo Bechal was published after his death in 1998. Seasoned politicians of Sindh including Benazir Bhutto, Rasool Bux Palijo, GM Syed, Bashir Qureshi and Qadir Mangsi were among his staunch admirers. Several thousands of his fans turned up to social media websites to pay tribute to Sarmad on his death anniversary.
