Aziz Mian Qawwal remembered on his 12th death anniversary

ISLAMABAD: Renowned qawwal Aziz Mian was remembered on his 12th death anniversary on Thursday.

He was also famous for singing ghazals in qawwali style.

For his contributions towards the music, the government had awarded him the Pride of Performance award in 1989.

Aziz Mian was born as Abdul Aziz in Delhi, British India. The exclamation Mian, which he often used in his qawwalis, became part of his stage name.

He began to introduce himself as Aziz Mian Mairthi. The word Mairthi refers to Meerut, a city in northern India, from which he migrated to Pakistan in 1947.

At the age of ten, he began learning the art of Qawwali under the tutelage of Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan. He received sixteen years of training at the Data Ganj Baksh School of Lahore, and earned degrees in Urdu literature, Arabic and Persian from the University of Punjab, Lahore.

Aziz Mian was one of the more traditional Pakistani Qawwals. His voice was raspy and powerful. Aziz Mian was the only prominent qawwal to write his own lyrics.

For his service in philosophy and music, the Government of Pakistan awarded him the Pride of Performance medal in 1989.

In addition to his own poetry, Aziz Mian performed poetry by Allama Iqbal, and a number of contemporary Urdu poets, including Sadiq and Qateel Shifai.

Aziz Mian died from hepatitis in Tehran, Iran on December 6, 2000. He was in Iran at the invitation of the Government of Iran, to perform on the occasion of Azrat Ali's death anniversary. He is buried in Multan, in the graveyard of Nau Bahar Shah.