Ustad Muhammad Juman () (10 October 1935 – 24 January 1990) was a Sindhi musician and classical singer from

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, whose impact on Sindhi music is still pervasive.

Early life and career

Muhammad Juman was born on 10 October 1935 in the village of Sorra, located in the

Lasbela District Lasbela District ( , , ) is a coastal district and part of the Kalat Division situated in the south-east of Balochistan, Pakistan. Located approximately northwest of Karachi, the district is geographically and economically significant. A ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

, to a musician, Haji Ahmed Sakhirani of Sakhirani clan. It was only natural that he became fond of music from his childhood years. Juman took formal music lessons from a venerable Pakistani musician Ustad Nazar Hussain of

Pakistan Television Pakistan Television Corporation (; reporting name: PTV); also known as ''Pakistan Television'', is the Pakistani state-owned broadcasting, broadcaster founded by the Government of Pakistan, operating under the Ministry of Information & Broadc ...

(

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Center), who had also been a music tutor to the renowned singer Madam Noor Jehan. He went to

Radio Pakistan The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (); also known as ''Radio Pakistan'', serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate its founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in P ...

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

to start a career as a " Surando" Player (

fiddler A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially syno ...

). He played symphony of Kohyari in audition and started working as a staff musician of

. He played "Surrando" in harmony with many artists especially Ustad Muhammad Ibrahim. In 1955, he went to

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

as a musician where he composed Kalams of various

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

saints of

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

Flute playing

He was fond of playing flute since childhood. Therefore he visited Radio Pakistan Karachi station several times. Eventually, he started his career with a program as a flute player.

Singing career

Some of his fellow radio artists advised him to sing as his voice had a quality. Within short time, he started singing regularly and appeared at Radio Pakistan Hyderabad as a singer. Here he became a student of Ustad Nazar Hussain and Bade Wahid Ali Khan. Afterwards he worked hard to learn the music of

Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (; 1689/1690 – 21 December 1752), commonly known by the honorifics ''Lakhino Latif'', ''Latif Ghot'', ''Bhittai'', and ''Bhit Jo Shah'', was a Sindhi Sufi mystic and poet from Pakistan, widely considered to be the ...

’s poetry and became a successful singer.Profile of Ustad Muhammad Juman on encyclopediasindhiana.org website (in Sindhi language)
Retrieved 5 September 2022 Ustad Muhammad Juman was such a musician who brought out new colors, new ways and renovations to Sindhi music. He used to work hard and composed countless musical melodies. He had his own unique style of singing which was appreciated not only by public but also by other musicians. He sang the poetry of mystic poets but specially sang Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai with great love. One of the famous kafi song "Muhinjo Mulk Malir, Kotan Main Aaun Keean Guzariyan" was recorded for film Umer-Marvi. His famous and evergreen Kafi was "Yaar Dadhi Isaq Aatish lai Hai". Muhammad Juman also performed in

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Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, Japan, Australia and many other countries. Veteran singers like

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...

Noor Jehan Noor Jehan (21 September 192623 December 2000) was a Pakistani playback singer and actress who worked in both British India and later in Pakistan's cinema of Pakistan, cinema. Her career lasted over six decades, during which she recorded 10,00 ...

and

Abida Parveen Abida Parveen (; ; born 20 February 1954) is a Pakistani singer, composer, musician of Sufi music, painter and an entrepreneur. Parveen is one of the highest-paid singers in Pakistan. Her singing and music have earned her many accolades, and s ...

have praised his singing talent. Former Prime Minister of Pakistan,

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

also was an admirer and used to invite him for his personal gatherings.

Awards and recognition

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance (), officially known as the Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sp ...

Award by the

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in 1980. *

Government of Sindh The Government of Sindh () () is the provincial government of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Its powers and structure are set out in the provisions of the 1973 Constitution, in which 30 Districts of 7 Divisions under its authority and ju ...

, Culture department has inaugurated a music gallery for him in recognition of his services at

Museum,

Hyderabad, Sindh Hyderabad, also known as Neroonkot, is the capital and largest city of the Hyderabad Division in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Sindh by population, second-largest city in Sindh, after Karachi, and the List of citie ...

. * Latif Award.29th death anniversary of Ustad Muhammad Juman observed
Daily Times (newspaper), Published 27 January 2019, Retrieved 5 September 2022 * Sachal Sarmast Award.

Music training

Muhammad Jumman received his music education from Ustad Nazar Hussain and Bari Waheed Ali Khan, expert on Bhittai's Surs (Symphonies). He became very famous when he sang a Sindhi Kalam of

:
This Kalam (Song) was composed by the notable musician Deebo Bhattacharya. Muhammad Jumman became well-known everywhere after performing a Saraiki Kafi of Usman Faqir: Muhammad Juman was a regular performer of

Sufi music Sufi music refers to the devotional music of the Sufis, inspired by the works of Sufi poets like Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah, Amir Khusrow, and Khwaja Ghulam Farid. Qawwali is the best-known form of Sufi music and is most commonly found in ...

shows.Muhammad Juman performing on Pakistan Television
Uploaded 13 October 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2022 He also sang Mir Sikandar Khan Khoso's kafis "Ishq munjhon izhar thee ayo" and "Kech Punhal day hal kahay hal" at

. Juman's son, Shafi Muhammad, also followed his style of kafi singing.

Death

He died on 24 January 1990 at a Karachi hospital due to complications from hepatitis and diabetes. He was buried at Mewa Shah Graveyard,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Juman, Ustad Muhammad 1935 births 1990 deaths Sindhi people 20th-century Pakistani male singers 20th-century Pakistani singers People from Lasbela District Sindhi-language singers Singers from Sindh Performers of Sufi music Pakistani folk singers Sufi artists Recipients of the Pride of Performance Pakistani radio personalities Pakistani television people