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Revision as of 04:23, 3 January 2006 by Szhaider (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Aziz Mian (Urdu: عزیز میاں) is one of Pakistan's most famous singers of qawwali.
Aziz Mian was one of the more traditional Pakistani Qawwals. His voice was high pitched and powerful, but this was not the reason for his success. Aziz Mian was not only a great singer but also a great philosopher, he often wrote his own poems. Aziz Mian obtained a degree in Urdu and Arabic from the University of Punjab, Lahore.
His real name was Abdul Aziz but his expletive "Mian" (Urdu: میاں), which he used a lot in his qawwalis, became a part of his name. He introduced himself as Aziz Mian Mairthi. "Mairthi" refers to "Mairath", a city in India, from where he migrated to Pakistan after the creation of new country.
In early days of his career, he was nicknamed as "Fauji Qawwal" (Urdu: فوجی قوال) (means "Military Qawwal") because his most performances were in military barracks.
He was arrested multiple times durning his life on minor charges but was vindicated.
Aziz Mian's qawwalis focused more on the chorus and emphasising the main point of the qawwali through repetition, very little attention is paid to the music part of the qawwali. Aziz Mian had a knack for reciting poetry to the effect that touched the audiences hearts. Although Aziz Mian mainly sang religious qawwalis he also had some success in the romantic field. Aziz Mian's most famous qawwali's are "Main Sharabi Main Sharabi" a.k.a "Teri Soorat" and "Allah He Jaanay Kaun Bashar Hai".
He was fond of discussing religious and sufi paradoxes in his qawwalis. He directly addressed Allah (God) and complained about the misery of man although he is the best creation of almighty. Most of the poetry, which Aziz used to address Allah, was written by Allama Iqbal. However, famous Pakistani comedian, Umar Sharif said in one of his one-man shows about Aziz Mian, "Other people have disputes on earth, his (Aziz's) disputes are in heavens. He altercates with Allah."
Sabri Brothers criticied his most famous qawwali "Main Sharabi Main Sharabi" (I Alcoholic I Alcoholic) with their own qawwali "Peena Veena Chhor Sharabi" (Quit Drinking, Alcoholic). It was retorted by Aziz Mian with "Hi Kam-Bakht Too Ne Pe He Nahi" (Alas You Haven't Drunk). It was quite interesting conversation in form of qawwalis. After the release of Aziz Mian's response, "Main Sharabi Main Sharabi" is mostly coupled with "Hi Kam-Bakht Too Ne Pe He Nahi" in newly released volumes.
Aziz Mian died because of complications of hepatitis in Tehran (Iran) on December 6, 2000. He was in Iran on the invitaion by Iranian government for performance on the occasion of Ali's (cousin of Prophet Muhammad) death aniversary. Aziz Mian currently has two sons who are following in his footsteps, Imran and Tabrez. Both qawwals are very similar in style to Aziz himself.
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