Tufail Niazi

Who was Tufail Niazi?

Tufail Niazi was a Pakistani folk singer whose songs include "Sada chiryan da chamba", "Akhiyaan Lagiyaan Jawaab Na", "layee beqadran naal yaari", and "Mein nai jana kheriyan de nal". He has given many performances on PTV and Radio Pakistan.

He was born on 1916 to the only Muslim family in the Sikh village of Madaira in Jallandhar district. Madairan was only a short distance from Sham Chaurasi, which was the birthplace of the musical family of that name.

Tufail’s family and ancestors were “Pakhawajis.” Historically, some of his family members were “Rubabis” who sang Gurbanis in Gurdwaras. Tufail followed this family tradition and started singing Guru Nanak’s bani at the Gurdwara in the village of Pumba near Amritsar where his maternal grandfather was employed as a rubabi. After three years in Pumba, he lost interest, and his father Haji Raheem Buksh took him to a "Gaushala" in Gondwal near the town of Taran Taaran. Here, he joined the Gaushala singing party that went from village to village to spread the message of cow protection.