He had not been living but merely keeping death at bay all these years. Finally, on Tuesday afternoon, he left this mortal world leaving behind stories of his powerful throat singing ballads of warriors and his magical fingers moving up and down the sarangi.
Nobody is sure of dhadhi folk singer Idu Sharif’s age but it was somewhere between 75 and 80 as he breathed his last at his Manimajra house here.
Born into a family of mirasis (traditional singers) at Lalauda village near Nabha, Idu was given the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2006. But even that could not lift him out of the clutches of poverty.
Idu didn’t learn music but inherited it as his forefathers were renowned dhadhi singers. His father Idu Khan was a known dhadhi singer (one who sings ballads of warriors playing dhadh) of his time.
Idu faced poverty his entire life. So abandoning singing, Idu moved to Manimajra to his in-laws’ house and started driving a horse cart to make a living. It was around three decades back when Chandigarh-based renowned actor Kamal Tiwari, while documenting folksingers, accidentally discovered him in a city market. “When I heard him, it was amazing. Horse cart was not his place, he was made for music,” recounts Tiwari.
Tiwari started engaging him in various projects and Idu was rehabilitated into singing. But today Tiwari regrets that Idu didn’t get the attention he deserved. “I am satisfied that he has not died as a labourer and his art will always remain etched in memory of people as a singer who had a powerful throat,” he says.
Idu had a long association with Punjabi singer Parmjit Singh Pammi. “We knew each other since 1981, when we used to perform for Punjab’s Cultural Affairs Department. He used to sing along with his elder brother Sadiq Khan and nephew Murli Khan.” Pammi says he was instrumental in convincing him to sell the horse cart and take to fulltime singing. “He said he needed Rs 5,000 a month to survive. So we would recommend his name for various programmes.”
Pammi recounts that in 1990, he recorded ballads of Heer and Dulla Bhatti with Music Today along with top artistes. He stole the thunder with his powerful voice, he says.
It is part of Punjab’s folklore now that when Idu would move the bow on the sarangi to sing the ballad of Heer or Dulla Bhatti, time would come to a standstill. But the master’s last days were spent in abject poverty.
Except former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu giving him an assistance of Rs 2 lakh and a few other philanthropists extending help not much was done when he was bedridden for the past few years following a brain stroke.
Idu’s son Sukhi Khan says he won’t tell his children to become folk singers. “What is the rationale in adopting an art form that does not give you two square meals a day? This is how the world treats its artistes,” he signs off.
Channi condoles Idu’s death
Chandigarh: Punjab Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister Charanjit Singh Channi expressed condolences with the family. He said that with the passing away of Sharif an era in dhadhi folklore had come to an end. The role played by Sharif in promoting the art form would always remain a golden chapter in the history of dhadhi folk singing.
Surjit Patar, chairman, Punjab Kala Parishad, said it is a great loss not only for the family but also for lovers of Punjabi folk music the world over.
