HYDERABAD, Jan 1: Sindh lost another musician of high calibre in Amanat Gul on Friday night. He suffered a cardiac arrest when he was visiting a friend in Thatta and died on way to Hyderabads civil hospital. He was 45.

He died without issue and leaves behind a widow, two sisters and two brothers. Amanat was the eldest son of Ustad Feroze Gul, who died in Washington, USA on Oct 14, 1996 while performing along with Abida Parveen.

Amanat was laid to rest in Tando Yusuf graveyard on Saturday. His funeral was attended, among others, by a large number of admirers and musicians who loved him for his humane nature and extreme humility.

Amanat started singing at the tender age of six. He chose as his field of expertise playing musical instruments, particularly harmonium, from his father Feroze Gul who had himself made a valuable contribution to Sindhi music by composing songs for Abida Parveen.

As he grew up, he became an expert instrumentalist with a grasp over harmonium. He composed songs for countless audio cassettes besides contributing to a number of TV channels. He has also several Sindhi films to his credit, according to his family, for which he composed music.

A recipient of Shahbaz award, Amanat became a pupil of Indian music icon R.D. Berman in 1988 in London where his father had taken him to perform with Abida Parveen.

“Berman tied a strand round his wrist symbolising he had now become his pupil. Soon afterwards, Berman invited Amanat to his home and proudly introduced him to an assembly of fellow musicians who had gathered at his house,” said Salamat Feroze, brother of Amanat.

Amanat was known for his humility and was equally at home in composing folk, classical and modern music.

On Dec 2, he played harmonium for an opera on Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai's Sur Sorath. Ustad Mohammad Juman had started composing the opera but could not complete it as his death intervened. It was completed by Amanat.

The opera was written by journalist Naz Sahto and recorded by a popular Sindhi TV network.

“Although he was leading the opera he did not try to thrust himself on it, a quality which is rarely found among people because everybody is fond of gaining popularity,” said the journalist.

His death has left a vacuum in Sindh's music field which could not be filled for a long time.

According to Salamat, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar, Federal Minister for Commerce and a music lover Makhdoom Amin Fahim and other high profile persons have offered him condolences on his brother's death.