Zubair Qureshi
Federal Minister for Education, National Heritage and Culture Shafqat Mehmood on Thursday expressed his deep sorrow over the death of the famous folk singer Bhagat Krishan Lal Bhil who passed away earlier in the day. He was suffering from kidney disease.
He telephoned Sukhdev brother of Bhil and inquired about the deceased’s two children, Shambu Lal and Shubna Devi.
Krishan Lal had represented Pakistan all over the world and has been a symbol of diversity and cultural richness of Pakistan abroad. He was equally active and popular in Pakistan and was considered to be an embodiment of the musical traditions of Cholistan.
Krishan Lal Bhil was a known name in the artists community ,a lively performer and a master Marwari singer from Cholistan.
DG PNCA, Dr Fouzia Saeed has also expressed deep sadness upon receiving the news of passing away of the legendary folk singer. Dr Fouzia Saeed, announced that PNCA would hold a grand Cholistan Folk Night, as a special reference for the great Krishan Lal Bhil once the corona crisis is settled”.
Dr Fouzia Saeed shared that she had known Krishan Lal for the last 30 years and had a special relationship with his family and community. She had also paid visits to his home in cholistan quite a few times. He was always appreciative of the book that she wrote about the Bhil Community. Krishan Lal had performed in a number of events in Lok Virsa during her tenure as ED. He was also interviewed by her in the TV series Folk Beats by Lok Virsa. She had always admired his talent and the way he represented the tradition and culture of Bhil Community.
In one of her messages she expressed that “It is a very sad day as we lost a pillar of folk singing in Pakistan. He represented a whole tradition of Bhil community of Hindu biradri and has the credit to introduce many folk artists from south punjab. He called me mata ji and i always interacted with him and his community as my own family.”
