Mansoor Malangi was a folk singer popular among those interested in listening to something that was more authentic.

Among vocalists who sing folk music, ang is the distinguishing feature of their music. Since folk music is not much formalised and does not attempt to achieve the standardisation of a classical vocalist or an instrumentalist, its distinct flavour is the most important aspect that sets it apart from others.

It is usually the area that one hails from that determines the ang of singing. Since Malangi was born around the old centres of Jhang and Shorkot, the region had a distinct colouration both in the pronunciation of words as well as the way the sur was intoned. The lyrics that he sang too were in the same poetic tradition as well as the pronunciation of Punjabi. It seemed far more authentic than the songs of other vocalists who have fused their music with contemporary instrumentation and lyrics that speak of current reality rather than something that is more steeped in tradition.

He started to sing in the mid-1960s after seeking some guidance from Baba G.A. Chisti and he was one of the major beneficiaries of the cassette revolution that made music accessible to a large number of people. These cassettes were easy to handle and did not demand a great deal of maintenance. They were cheap and could be played on machines which did not need permanent power connection. These battery or dry battery contraptions were also portable and people could carry them wherever they went. The biggest beneficiary of the cassette revolution was undoubtedly Attaullah Essakhelvi who was not a dominant figure or a personality in the mainstream media, if by that is meant the radio, television and the prestigious recording labels like the EMI.

Both Attaullah Essakhelvi and Mansoor Malangi then developed a sizeable fan club in the urban areas f the Punjab. Whenever Malangi performed in urban centres like Lahore, the skepticism of the organisers whether the urban audiences would come to listen to him and respond warmly was proved unfounded because people came in large numbers once they knew that he was to perform in the city. They came seeking him out in venues like the Alhamra and later the Rafi Peer Performing Arts Festival. Being adequately familiar with his music, they made fervent requests for specific numbers.

It was the sheer popularity of the likes of Mansoor Malangi that they were considered later to be worthwhile in whatever they were doing. And this kind of music in recorded form was able to match the popularity of film music during the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s. The opening of various radio stations other than the ones in Lahore Peshawar and Karachi, and later the regional channels under Pakistan Television Corporation  made it possible for these artistes to be given air time. Actually the media capitalised on their popularity.

Lok Virsa in Islamabad too got active and these artistes were, so to say, lifted from the back benches to be placed in the front rows. During the ZAB years, as everything awami became fashionable, folk music was looked at anew and it came out of the shadow of being uncouth, raw and unfinished. It was seen as the expression of the underprivileged who actually mattered. The tables were turned on high culture. Since then this line of argument has stayed its course.

Malangi also sang the kalam of the venerated poets of the Punjab like Bulleh Shah and Khawaja Fareed but then there were others who were doing that so much better than him. He did render the kafis but more in the geet ang of his native area and did not touch the standard of say Pathaney Khan in this respect. His real forte was the songs or the geets that may have been traditional folk but reworked on new lyrics, written with the intention of expressing the sentiments of the common man.

Hailing from Garh MOR, Mansoor Malangi began his singing career from the Radio Pakistan, Lahore, in 1965. His folk song ik phul motia da mar ke jaga sohniey became an instant hit across Pakistan. His other songs allah badshah, assan beqadraan naal lai akhian, bedard dhola eevain nai karenda, dard undar de pairh hai, guzar gaya din sara, keri ghalati hoi wey zalim, menu tera jahan sohna, muhabbat rog hai dil da, wah wah sajan teri yaari, jaldi na kar, akhiyaan laaiyaan jal bharayaan, yadaan wichre sajan diyaan, ud jaa we kawaan, kala til mahi da, balocha zaalman, saadi sangat dey wich badnam ha ho, husn di shokhi, rog dadha laya, mehsoos na kar and chabba choorian da were some of his evergreen numbers.

In all, he released more than two hundred audio albums. The government awarded him the President’s Medal for the Pride of Performance besides several cultural and national PTV awards for his services to promote folk music. He also performed all over the world.