Alam Lohar

Alam Lohar was born in 1928 in Achh, near Kotla Arab Ali Khan, Gujrat District of Punjab, British India. He was born into a Punjabi Muslim family of Lohars (blacksmiths). As a child, Lohar read Sufiana Kalaam, a collection of Punjabi stories and poetry and started singing from a childhood age. == Career ==

Alam Lohar modified a new style of singing the Punjabi Vaar, an epic or folk tale which made him popular when he toured villages and towns in the Punjab region. He is famous for his rendition of Waris Shah's Heer along with other songs such as Saif ul Maluk. He recorded his first album at the age of 13 and throughout his career he accomplished 15 Gold Disc LPs (record sales) for the following with mainly EMI/His Master's Voice Pakistan and other regional companies within Pakistan: Jugni (1965), Saif ul Mulook (1948), Qissa Yusuf Zulaykha (1961), Bol Mitti de Bawa (1964), Dilwala Dukhra (1975). In memory of an accident where he sustained a leg injury and his call for help went unanswered, he wrote the lyrics.... Wajan Mariyan Bulaya (1977), Qissa Mirza Sahiban (1967), Qissa Hirni (1963), Maa Da Pyaar (1971), Heer (1969), Qissa Sassi Pannu (1972), Qissa Baraa Maa (1974), Jis Din Mera Vayaah Howega (1973), Qissa Dhulla Bhatti (1959), Mirza De Maa (1968). In his childhood he used to read Sufi poetry (sufiana kalaam), Punjabi folk stories and participate as a young child in local gatherings expressing a vocal only art form in reading passages of great poets. Then he started going to festivals and gatherings on a regular basis and with these performances, he rose to become one of the notable singers in South Asia during the 1970s. ==Death==

Alam Lohar died in an accident near Sham ki Bhattian on 3 July 1979 when a heavily loaded truck collided with his vehicle because the truck failed to overtake his car. He was buried at the outskirts of Lalamusa on GT Road in Pakistan. , Punjab, Pakistan. ==Death and legacy==

Throughout the period from the 1950s until his death in 1979, he had dominated folk singing in Pakistan and was a major singer in Punjabi and Sufi singing worldwide. Some of Alam Lohar's songs have achieved critical acclaim and have contributed to the music and culture of the Punjab, most notably Jugni, Bol Mitti De Baweya, Mirza Sahiban (he was the main Punjabi singer to bring this story into a song format singing in a very distinct style – Jhori (double flute) & Chimta with a high pitch vocal) Wajan Mariyan Bulaya, Saif-ul-mulook, Dil Wala Dukhra and Shahbaz Qualander (Dhamaal). Alam Lohar is regarded as one of Pakistan's iconic performers who still remains popular in the region. In memory of Alam Lohar the Government of Pakistan has named a road after him which runs from his birth village Aach to the main Grand Truck Road which is known as 'Alam Lohar Road'. In memory of Alam Lohar, there is a visual theatre depiction of him performing which is on display at the Lok Virsa Museum in Islamabad. ==Awards and recognition==

• Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 1979. ==References==