Abdul Rahim Sarban

This article is about the Afghan singer. For the Pashtun tribe, see Sarbans. For the British author, see Sarban (author).

ساربان Sarban
Birth name	Abdul Rahim Sarban
Born	Kabul, Afghanistan
Genres	Soft rock Classical music
Occupation	Singer
Instrument	Harmonium
Labels	Various

Abdul-Rahim Sārbān (Persian: عبدالرحیم ساربان), known simply as Sarban, was a singer from Kabul, Afghanistan. He was born in Kabul an old area called (Saragy) to rice verdure father and stay home mother. He is known for his unique voice and music style that no other singer from Afghanistan has been able to imitate. The legendary Ahmad Zahir was born in Kabul too was a fan of Sarban and incorporated his original songs into Zahir's own collection. Sarban had also some success outside of Afghanistan, especially in the neighboring Persian-speaking countries Iran and Tajikistan, where he gave several rounds of live performances at the height of his career.

Career

Sarban’s life is said to have been unhappy. Little is known of his childhood and most sources only speak of him after his rise to fame. From humble beginnings to national recognition, Sarban gained popularity due to his unconventional music style and a voice that simultaneously absorbed and repelled the listener. Due to the uniqueness of the tone of his voice, he was constantly analyzed. He had a polarized fan base as those who loved him did so with a passion and those who disregarded him also did so with strong sentiments.

Personal life

Sarban was shy and reclusive throughout his life. He seemed indifferent to fame and his celebrity status. Although there are no clear records of when he began drinking it was a well-known fact in Kabul Radio that Sarban could not sing without having a drink first. He had an alcohol problem most of his life. During the early 1980s, his alcoholism began to take its toll and some of the symptoms began to manifest themselves: eccentric behavior on the stage; his speech began to deteriorate. His deteriorating voice effectively ended his singing career. Sarban fell in love with one of his cousins but apparently she or her father did not accept his proposal. Sarban was heartbroken and never married.

Death

Sarban died in poverty living in Pakistan. But after 12 years of his death, his dead body was taken back to the city where he was making thousands of his fans enjoy and buried in the Shohada-e-Saliheen in Kabul.

Contribution

Sarban was the first person to put lyrics to the Ahesta Boro (Go Slowly) anthem played for brides on their wedding day. These lyrics, along with the composition, have become an expected and celebrated feature of Afghan weddings, with the composition also having being sung by the likes of Ahmad Wali, which has added to its popularity. The famous Azerbaijani British Muslim singer Sami Yusuf imitated a Sarban composition, Beyake Berem Ba Mazaar (Come, Lets Go to Mazaar), in his song "Hasbi Rasbi", which features the same tune but replaces the lyrics whilst retaining their timing. Countless others have covered the song and composition as well, both within Afghanistan and in other Persian cultures.

In addition to the various compositions and lyrics he contributed, Sarban was also arguably symbolic and typical of Afghanistan's culture in his day, reflected in his singing of the beautiful poetry of many famous poets from ages past, such as Hafiz Shirazi, to whom he paid tribute with the song "Dozh as Masjid (Soye Maykhanaa Aamad Peer e Ma)" (Last night, upon departing the Mosque, our Master headed towards the Tavern). Sarban's cover is a cut down version of the original poem, retaining 3 of the 10 verses composed by Shirazi. Many of Sarban's compositions, like Dozh as Masjid, feature various styles of religious or mystical poetry, which although appearing to be ordinary love songs, utilise a language of their own. Often such poems use words such as "beloved" metaphorically in reference to God, and it could be argued that Sarban was part of a musical movement in Afghanistan which sought to enlighten the audience as much as it entertained them.