HYDERABAD, Dec 6: Renowned alghoza player Allah Bachayo Khoso died on Thursday at a private hospital in Tando Mohammad Khan district after a long illness. He was 77.

For over a decade Khoso had been suffering from a lung ailment but had been hit by meningitis in the last few days of his life, said his son Arbab Khoso.

He was laid to rest in his hometown Daddun, in Bulri Shah Karim taluka. His village was renamed by its residents after Khoso. Besides relatives and friends, his funeral was attended by directer of the Sindh Museum Ayub Jamali and Hyderabad station director of Radio Pakistan Naseer Mirza. Khoso is survived by a widow and three sons.The veteran player leaves behind a great vacuum in the art of alghoza playing.

He was the disciple of the top three alghoza players of Sindh, Shah Mohammad Nabina, Misri Khan Jamali and Khamiso Khan. All three passed away but bequeathed their art to Khoso. Fortunately, his elder son Arbab has inherited the art from his father but it seems like he has big shoes to fill. The other two sons are associated with farming.

Giving details about his father’s condition, Arbab said that his father had played four alghozas simultaneously in one of his performances in the Philippines in 2003 which proved to be disastrous for his health. “Since playing four alghozas required a lot of stamina my father couldn’t recover from it and developed lung disease,” he said.

Khoso was born in 1935 but rose to fame in 1976 after he was introduced by Radio Pakistan. His playing was recorded on numerous occasions by Radio Pakistan, according to Hyderabad station director Mr Mirza. “His death has created a vacuum which will take time to fill,” he said. However, he added that Khoso did pass on his art to his son Arbab who was also acknowledged by Radio Pakistan.

“I requested Allah Bachayo Khoso to perform in the Urs celebrations of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai in 2004 and he did,” said Mr Mirza. “He played Bhitai’s Sur Rano on which he was given a standing ovation. However that was his last performance. He had to stop playing because of asthma.”

Mr Mirza said that Khoso had command over Koahari surs, raag Rano, ragni Manj and Bheem Plasi. “When Allah Bachayo Khoso was accompanied by Nazeer Khan on the tabla, Mohammad Arib on the dambora and Mitha Khan Zardari on the ghara, the combination was lethal,” he said. “Such an event was a treat to watch for alghoza lovers.”

Though Khoso couldn’t get a Pride of Performance award, said Mr Mirza, he was presented with the Bhittai Award which is the highest award in Sindh. “He used to tell us with pride that people like Field Marshal Ayub Khan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shah of Iran had liked and clapped on his performance,” he said.

However the son of the alghoza player complained that his father did not get proper attention from the culture department.

The financial assistance he received was not enough to cover his health expenses, he said, adding that because of the financial constraints his father could not get proper treatment.

Reminiscing about his father’s glory days, Arbab said, “My father played the alghoza with the late Madam Noor Jehan during the war of 1965 in Lahore at the Wagah border. His performance was also part of a Sindhi film ‘Chandoki’,” he added quoting his mother.