Akhtar Chanal Zahri
{{Short description|Balochi folk singer}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=May 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Akhtar Chanal Zahri
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth-date and age|1954|}}
| birth_name =
| birth_place = Khuzdar, Balochistan, Pakistan
| resting_place =
| nationality = Pakistani
| other_names =
| occupation = Folk singer
| years_active = 1973 – present
| spouse =
| children =
| awards = Pride of Performance Award (1998)
}}
Akhtar Chanal Zahri (born 1954) is a Baloch folk singer.{{cite book |last=Joseph C. |first=Mathew |year=2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6iUlDwAAQBAJ&q=Akhtar%20Chanal%20Zahri | title=Understanding Pakistan: Emerging Voices from India |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=200 |isbn=9781351997256}} He is famous for his singing in Coke Studio Pakistan.{{cite web|url=http://www.cokestudio.com.pk/season7/akhtar-chanal-zahri.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919115151/http://www.cokestudio.com.pk/season7/akhtar-chanal-zahri.html |date=1 September 2014|archive-date=19 September 2016|title=Profile of Akhtar Chanal Zahri|website=Coke Studio (Pakistan) website|access-date=9 May 2020}}{{cite web
|title=Akhtar Chanal Zahri on Coke Studio (Pakistan)
|website=Folk Punjab website
|url=http://folkpunjab.com/cokestudio/akhtar-chanal-zahri/
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130123145916/http://folkpunjab.com/cokestudio/akhtar-chanal-zahri/
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=January 23, 2013
|access-date=9 May 2020
}}
Career
Akhtar Chanal Zahri was born at Khuzdar, Balochistan, Pakistan in 1954. In 1964, Akhtar Chanal started taking formal singing lessons from a music Ustad. In 1973, he brought regional folk to national attention after he was discovered by the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC)'s Balochi Radio Station, and in 1974 Chanal's music became popular nationwide when his song Deer Deer was first aired live on national TV. Since then, Akhtar Chanal has traveled all over the world, including the United States, the Netherlands and Europe for tours. He has performed in a concert arranged at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation for the political leaders meeting at the summit. Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto took him on a tour to England. When Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Islamabad, Pakistan, he performed then at an event in 2004.{{cite web|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-when-india-pakistan-singers-performed-at-sco-2761288 |date=16 June 2019|website=DNA India website |author=Sidhant Sibal |title=When India, Pakistan singers performed at SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation)|access-date=9 May 2020}}
Akhtar Chanal Zahri reportedly has said in an interview, "The songs I hummed as a youngster watching my sheep, are embedded in my memory. Where I come from, when a child is born, the only two things he knows how to do are sing and cry – music is part of us from the very beginning".
Songs
Some of his famous songs are:
- Daanah Pah Daanah
- Da Sande Zehri
- Baloch
- Nar Bait{{cite web | title = Song: Nar Bait | publisher = Paki Updates | url = http://www.pakiupdates.com/akhtar-chanal-zahri-nar-bait-coke-studio-season-4-%E2%80%93-episode-4.html | access-date = 9 May 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110905184451/http://www.pakiupdates.com/akhtar-chanal-zahri-nar-bait-coke-studio-season-4-%E2%80%93-episode-4.html | archive-date = 5 September 2011 | url-status = dead }}
- Afghan Jalebi (Doumbek Version) from Phantom (2015)[https://tribune.com.pk/akhtar-chanal-zahri/ Akhtar Chanal Zahri claims payment for 'Afghan Jalebi'] The Express Tribune (newspaper), Retrieved 9 May 2020
- Shonk O Bijili
- Je Aoo Patari
Filmography
Awards and recognition
- Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 1998.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|nm5051889}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20160919115151/http://www.cokestudio.com.pk/season7/akhtar-chanal-zahri.html Coke Studio: Season 7 artists]
{{Pride of Performance for Arts}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zahri, Akhtar Chanal}}
Category:Pakistani folk singers
Category:People from Khuzdar District
Category:Recipients of the Pride of Performance
{{Pakistan-singer-stub}}