Born in 1937 in the Okara region of Punjab, Sain was the youngest child from a modest rural family. Haunted by recurring dreams of a hand beckoning him towards a shrine, Sain left home aged 13 and began a 9-year journey roaming Sufi sites in Sindh, Punjab and Azad, searching for the source of his vision - in the process joining an ancient tradition of wandering Sufi minstrels who traveled from region to region singing kalam (poetry) in praise of the Sages, spreading messages of love and tolerance with ordinary people.
Sain’s long quest ended when he visited the Punjab town of Uch Sharif, known for it’s Sufi traditions. When beckoned to enter a small Daragah (shrine) he recognised the gesture as coming from the hand he had seen so many times in his dreams. He studied under Sufi masters and learnt music from the Uch Sharif-based musicians Ustad Ronaq Ali and Sain Marna.
A master of the three-string Ektara lute, Sain holds a wide repertoire of compositions by Sufi poets including Bulleh Shah, Muhammad Buksh, and Mullah Shah Badakhshi.
Sain undertake his first national tour of the United Kingdom in Autumn 2011.
"The closest anyone alive will get to being in the presence of the Sufi mystics of yore”
BBC World Music Awards
“Wonderfully soulful songs”
The Telegraph
“It is impossible not to feel overwhelmed by the passion by which Zahoor delivers the sacred verses”
Songlines
