By Sultan Madad
After a long and soulful journey of showering happiness with the beats of his drum, the legendary music master and all-time great drummer Ali Gohar of Hunza passed away two days ago at the age of 103.
He played drum for over 90 years.
A long chapter of our centuries old heritage is closed with the demise of Ustad Ali Gohar. Not only that he was a great drummer but also he was the perfect continuation of Hunza’s musical heritage.
Our musical heritage is not limited to dancing beats on few tunes but it has a vast variety ranging from war scenes to gallant defenders of motherland, joyous moments of life to tragic stories, sowing to harvesting, sports to festivals. History is encapsulated in every tune.
I don’t know if someone has recorded his vast knowledge. He was a great teacher as well and desirous to transfer his skills to young musicians. A down to earth humble music lord, he was a witty gentleman who kept the people around him smiling. The huge void created on the cultural scene of not just Hunza but the whole of Gilgit Baltistan will be hard to fill but thanks to the modern technology, he will be remembered by music lovers through his recorded art for long.
May his soul be blessed with the innumerable happiness in the heavens that he has been showering upon humanity all the life. My deepest condolences to his family, admirers and pupils.