Khyal Mohammad

Khyal Mohammad is from the Afridi community in Pushtuns. Khyal was born in Peshawar in the year 1946 to a musical family. His brother called Saif Ul-Maluk was a famous musician in the 1960s, who often played music on Radio Peshawar. Saif got Khyal introduced to the radio station, where played music first in the year 1958 at the age of 13. Meanwhile, for the next 10 years he largely limited himself to playing musical instruments like the tabla and harmonium. In the later part of the 1960s he started singing and recording ghazals, outmoded Pashto poems, an audacious flutter since the music division at that period was subjugated by folk music. His pattern soon turned out to be widespread in Peshawar and the NWFP.

After launching his name on the local radio in year 1973–1974, Khyal Mohammad give the impression in his first movie called Dara-i-Khyber, one of the paramount Pollywood Pashto movies. This offered his profession a kick-start, and since that time he has performed in several other movies. As his fame kept growing, he frequently travelled around in Afghanistan, in Europe, in the UAR and in the USA. Over the ages he has documented a bulk of music, and has also performed as a playback musician in several movies, winning several awards. He has been known as the Elvis Presley of Pashto music.

source of picture: www.khyber.org

MUSICAL STYLE

Khyal Muhammad renders the music of ghazal in a traditional way, selecting pieces that conglomerate mysticism, amorousness and philosophy, frequently with an undertone of glum. His musical voice has extraordinary range, but is continually completely under control. Radio producers, television producers and movie producers have paid compliment to his expertise and capability to manufacture faultless performances with least preparation.

AWARDS

In the year 1991, Khyal was given the National Film Award for reproduction musician. Khyal has been given a Pride of Performance presidential accolade, double National Accolades and a gold medal was given to him from Pakistan Television Corporation offered to him by the late Madame Noor Jehan. In April 2009, Chief Minister in the country Ameer Haider Khan Hoti presented a cheque for Rs 1 million to Khyal on behalf of the regional government for his services to the music of Pushto and ghazals.