Singer of common folk

Sindhi folk singer Jalal Chandio was well-known for his distinct voice and unique singing style

Known as the ‘Singer of the Common Folk,’ Sindhi folk singer Jalal Chandio, who died 23 years before, introduced new trends of singing in the Sindhi language and was the pioneer of the trend of Farmaish.

Because of Chandio’s unmatched and distinct style of singing, a considerable number of newbie singers of Sindh turned  to him to learn the singing style and called him  ’Ustad.’  Jalal Chandio was also referred to as the ‘Lion of Sindh,’ thanks to his expressive way of singing, full of energy, emotions and dynamism. ‘Roh Na Dilri,’ ‘Jehri Thai Mast Jawani,’ ‘Kedi Der Kar’ and ‘Nathi Nind Ache’ are among his famous songs.

Interestingly, he mostly sang the poems of lesser known Sindhi poets that earned them extended fame along across the province with Chandio himself.

Other than singing nationalist songs in the 1980s, Chandio also sang the poetry of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Sachal Sarmast, Khawaja Ghulam Fareed, Baba Bulleh Shah and many other Sufi poets, serving the music industry for a period of over 4 decades. Most importantly, he popularised the native singing style by using Yaktaaro (a rod-like one-string instrument) and Chappryun (hand clappers), a style that was already popular at Sufi Shrines. Kudos to Jalal Chandio for introduced these centuries-old instruments in the mainstream genre of folk music.

Born in 1944 in Naushahro Feroze District in Sindh, Jalal Chandio had an unfettered attachment with music since his childhood, but his father wanted him to become a tailor. However, young Jalal was never going to stay there for long and since he had a distinct echoing voice, he soon became a household name across the province. Comparatively, the labour class of Sindh was more affiliated with his songs and would find peace in his music.

He would perform  at the annual festivals of local shrines as well as in the wedding ceremonies across the province and even parts of Balochistan and Punjab. He also performed abroad including Dubai, India and Kuwait.

Except male singers, Jalal also mentored two female singers Rubina Haidari and Taj Mastani, who are now prominent names of Sindhi music.