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Safdar Tawakoli (Persian: صفدر توکلی); (born 1942 in Yakawlang, Bamyan) is an ethnic Hazara musician from Afghanistan. He focuses on and plays mostly Hazara folkloric and regional traditional music based on the dambura.[1][2] In 2020 the Afghan government awarded him the title of "Sultan Dambura" for his unique musical style.[3]
Safdar Tawakoli صفدر توکلی | |
|---|---|
 Safdar Tawakoli | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Safdar |
| Born | 1942 (age 81–82) Yakawlang, Bamyan, Afghanistan |
| Genres | Folkloric |
| Instrument | Dambora |
Early life
editSafdar Tawakoli was born in 1942, in Yakawlang, Bamyan, Afghanistan, to a family of moderate means. His interest in music was nurtured during his youth, but he had to overcome the conservative tradition and religious restrictions of his local culture. Despite these, he pursued his field of interest and became a devoted artist. He always admired and in some cases envied the popularity of national singers. He mastered the dambura, a regional long-necked stringed instrument popular among the Hazaras of central Afghanistan.
Career
editIn pursuit of a career in music, he left Bamyan to run a music store in Kabul that sold cassettes. It was his hard work and talent that led him to the studios of Radio Kabul and Afghanistan's National Television, where he did many shows and sung hundreds of songs. Safdar Tawakuli became a household name in some regions and the number of his listeners increased. He became an iconic singer and was awarded with several awards and honorary medals. He has represented Afghan music in numerous international shows.
He headed the musical group of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Afghanistan from 1986 to 1995, for eleven consecutive years.
Like everything else, Safdar Tawakoli's artistry fell victim to the civil war during which he lost his career, his home, his beloved son—but he never lost his fame.
Tawakoli remained in Afghanistan during the Taliban period as a representative of his culture.[4] After the fall of the Taliban, his musical number "Agar az Bamiyan o Qandahari - Hamay mo Pag biraari" became a symbol of national unity and pride for Afghanistan when it was re-sung by the prominent Afghan singer Farhad Darya.[citation needed] He was one of the first singers to sing on Afghanistan's National Radio immediately after the fall of the Taliban.
In 2017, the first-ever dambura music festival was held in Bamyan to honor Tawakoli's 50 years as a performer.[5] A statue of Tawakoli was unveiled.[5]
References
edit- ^ "The second celebration of the Silk Road". Hazara People. July 23, 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
- ^ آزادی, رادیو (April 2010). "صفدر توکلی درصدر جدول آهنگهای انتخابی". رادیو آزادی. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
- ^ "سلطان دمبوره و بابای موسیقی پشتو معرفی شدند" [Sultan Dambura and Baba of Pashto Music introduced]. AfghanNews (in Persian). 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
- ^ Karim, Ruksana (2020). "Evolution and Assessment of South Asian Folk Music: A Study of Social and Religious Perspective" (PDF). British Journal of Arts and Humanities. 2 (3): 67. doi:10.34104/bjah.020060072. ISSN 2663-7782. S2CID 241872928. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ a b "آلبوم عکس: نخستین جشنواره دمبوره در بامیان" [Photo album: The first dambura festival in Bamyan]. BBC News Persian Service (in Persian). 2017-07-08. Retrieved 2023-07-22.