Ustad Gullu held the fort!
In the last two decades, our semi-classical masters have almost disappeared. The greatest names like Mehdi Hasan, Iqbal Bano, and Ustad Fateh Ali Khan have all left this mortal world. Ghulam Ali is mostly in India. Parvez Mehdi, another beautiful singer, also died early. Shaukat Ali has been ill in recent times. Farida Khanum has stopped singing now. The only senior semi-classical great today left in Pakistan is Hussain Bux Gullu.

If it is truthfully remarked, Ustad Gullu is the best semi-classical ghazal singer we have today. A brilliant exponent of the Patiala gharana, Ustad is the avid follower of the great singer, Barkat Ali Khan, the younger brother of Badey Ghulam Ali Khan. Listening to him, you can scout those typically closely-alligned murkiyan that was the khasa of Barkat Ali Khan. Ustad’s mastery of murkiyan and paltey make you a fan of his style of ghazal singing.

Ustad Gullu is working efficiently to completely establish an academy of classical singing in Pakistan, so that this art could be saved. As he says, there are hundreds of such academies in India, but our lack of serious cultural initiatives from the government has literally put paid to this great art. According to him, a young girl in India recently sang his ghazal to win an all-India award, but in Pakistan no such competitions are held, where the government encourages young singers to do well all over the world.

Famous ghazals by Ustad Gullu include Hai dua yaad magar, Tujhe kho kar bhee tujhe paoon, Iss darje ishq mojib-e-ruswai, Aah ko chahiyye ik umr asar honey tak etc.