Folk singer Krishan Lal Bheel passes away

Renowned folk singer from Cholistan Krishan Lal Bheel passed away in Rahim Yar Khan on Thursday, local media reported.

According to reports, the singer had been admitted to a hospital five days ago. He was suffering from a serious kidney illness.

A recipient of President’s Pride of Performance Award, Bheel was known for his performances in the folk festival ‘Lok Mela’ at National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa).

He had also performed at Rafi Peer Folk Puppet Festival.

Bheel often performed in his local language Marwari, but he was also fluent in other regional languages including Hindi, Sindhi, Punjabi, Urdu, Saraiki, Registani and Rajasthani.

The singer, according to reports, had repeatedly appealed to the government to restore monthly financial assistance, as he and other artists had spent their whole lives in promoting art and culture of Pakistan.

In an interview with APP, Bheel had said he wanted to pass his art to the future generations. "My wife also performs in the troupe although women from our tribe are not generally allowed to do so," he said.

He had said that he started singing in 1970 and had performed in Norway, Germany, Dubai and Turkmenistan as well.