Sain Zahoor

Sain Zahoor
Background information
Born	Okara, Pakistan born 1945
Origin	Okara, Pakistan
Genres	Folk
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer
Instruments	Ektara, Tumbi
Labels	Pakistan – Coke Studio

Saieen Zahoor or Saeen Zahur Ahmad (Urdu: سائیں ظہور‎) (born circa 1945) is a leading Sufi musician from Pakistan. He has spent most of his life singing in Sufi shrines, and didn't produce a record until 2006, when he was nominated for the BBC World Music awards based on word of mouth. He emerged as the "best BBC voice of the year 2006", Sain is not his first name but a Sindhi honorific title and is also spelt Saeen or Sain, and Zahoor may be spelt Zahur.

Born in the Okara district of the Sahiwal region in the province of Punjab, Pakistan, Zahoor was the youngest child in a rural peasant family. He is said to have started singing at the age of five, and from that early age, he had dreamt of a hand beckoning him towards a shrine. He left home at the age of ten, roaming the Sufi shrines of Sindh, Punjab, making a living through singing. Zahoor claims that as he was walking past a small shrine in the south Punjab town of Uch Sharif (known for its Sufi traditions), when "someone waved at me with his hand, inviting me in, and I suddenly realised that it was this hand which I saw in my dream."

For some time, he studied music under Raunka Ali of Patiala Gharana, whom he met at Bulleh Shah's dargah (shrine), and who became his first teacher for Sufi verses. He also studied music with other Uch Sharif-based musicians.

Although not literate, Zahoor is known for his memory of song lyrics; mostly he sings compositions of the major Sufi poets, Bulleh Shah, Shah Badakhshi, Muhammad Qadiri others. Sain is famous for his performances at Coke studio. His upcoming Projects are in Australia and New Zealand in October & November 2014.

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