The 72nd Birth anniversary of famous Pakistani traditional qawwal Aziz Mian was observed on Wednesday.
Aziz Mian, one of the more traditional Pakistani qawwals, was born as Abdul Aziz on April 17, 1942 in Delhi, British India. The exclamation “Mian”, which he often used in his qawwalis, became part of his stage name.
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 obtained a degree in Urdu literature from the University of Punjab, Lahore.
Aziz Mian was the only prominent qawwal who used 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. He was fond of discussing religious and sufi paradoxes in his qawwalis.
He often directly addressed Allah and complained about the misery of man. 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 complications of hepatitis on December 6,
2000. He is buried in Multan in the graveyard of Nau Bahar Shah.
