As Shafi Muhammad Faqir sings Kabir’s Saancha Saheb Ik Tu… in that languid, forlorn voice so reminiscent of the sands of the Thar and Cholistan, one is transported to a land of traditional desert melody. The poetry of Kabir – one of the brilliant jewels of nirguna bhakti – weaves its way into Shafi Faqir’s music to touch heart and soul. As the vernacular – simple, natural and shorn of dogma – fits Kabir’s philosophy like a glove, Shafi Faqir’s voice lends itself beautifully to the saint-poet’s vision of a formless, all-encompassing God.

Like most Manganhaar children, Shafi Faqir started learning from his father who played the kamaicha, the time-honoured string and bow instrument of the singer tribe but now, a rarity in Sindh. In the early eighties, he met a dervish minstrel, Hussain Ali Shah, at a shrine. The meeting opened him up to the mystical songs of Kabir, Mira Bai, Tulasidas, Baba Bulleh Shah, Sachal Sarmast, Abdul Latif Bhittai, Misri Faqir and many others. He has also trained with Ustad Majeed Khan, a sarangi player and staff artist with Radio Pakistan, Hyderabad. Ustad Salamat Ali Khan of Sham Chaurasi gharana, and the renowned Singhaar Ali Salim are his other great inspirations. The musician hails from the deserts of Tharparkar, Sindh, and also plays the dholak and kartal. Singing in Marwari, Sindhi, Punjabi, Urdu and Poorbi, he travels through the year to perform all over Sindh and Punjab. He also runs a music academy in his native town for the Manganhaar children of his community.