LAHORE: Internationally acclaimed dholia (drummer) Goonga Sain passed away due to a heart attack here on Monday. He was 51.

According to his close aides, Goonga was suffering from cardiac issues for the past few months. He was laid to rest in Lahore in his ancestral graveyard.

Goonga started his career with the legendary Pappu Sain as a young boy and was then introduced by the Rafi Peer Theatre for the first time in their production, ‘Patay Khan’, in 1992. He played regularly at the shrine of Shah Jamal and as part of the weekly ritual to pay tribute to the Sufi saint.

With both speech and hearing impairment, Goonga Sain initially played on the roads of Lahore as a dholia and then gradually rose to worldwide fame as a master percussionist, travelling all over the world and carving a reputation for himself as one of Pakistan’s most spectacular performers.

He has played at some of the most renowned platforms around the world and was an integralpart of all Rafi Peer shows locally and internationally. His performance at the Mystic Music Sufi Festivals was one of the highlights of the event.

A master musician, who played the drum by feeling the vibrations of its beats; a true talent, who would always be missed when it comes to Sufi music.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2021