British novelist and literary critic E.M. Forster said: “Alas, without me for thousands of years, The Rose will blossom and Spring will bloom, But those who have secretly understood my heart-They will approach the grave where I lie.” The all-times maestro, iconic radio-television folk singer Shoukat Ali breathed his last after a prolonged liver illness in Lahore on Friday, April 2, 2021, at the age of 78. With a span of five decades of singing, Shoukat was one of the biggest stars to come out of Pakistani music industry having a ‘Pride of Performance’ award under his belt. He was perhaps the most renowned for the national songs he rendered during the 1965 and 1971 wars with India,such as Jaag Utha Hai Sara Watan-Saathio Mujahido, Mera Puttar Pakistan Da and Apna Parcham Ek Apna Quaid-e-Azam Aik Hai amongst many others. The tragic feelings of demise of Shoukat Ali are the exact replication of thought of the renowned classical Urdu poet Mir Taqi Mir, who once had voiced his feelings in his famous verse: Mat Sahl Hamein Jaano Phirta Hai Falak Barson, Tab khak Ke Parde Se Insaan Nikaltey Hain, (Consider us not as something trivial, heavens whirl for years, before … Continue reading Towering patriotic crooner Shaukat Ali to live in hearts forever