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SWAT, BAHRAIN: Until a few weeks ago, 20-year-old shepherd Nizam Uddin Torwari never imagined millions of people would be listening to his songs in an ancient, endangered language spoken by only about 100,000 people worldwide.

Currently, Torwali is the breakout star of the latest season of Coke Studio, Pakistan’s longest-running annual television music show.

The season’s 11th and final song, “Mehman” (meaning guest), features popular Pakistani singer-songwriter Zebnisa (Zeb) Bangash, the hottest new singer, Noorima Rehan, 18, and Torwari, who hails from Type-se-Ban, a remote village in northwest Pakistan, and sings in Torwari, an Indo-Aryan dialect that had no written tradition before 2007. The song has garnered nearly 7 million views on YouTube since its release over two weeks ago.

Torwari was first brought to the attention of Zulfikar Jabbar Khan (popularly known as “Shulfi”), a producer at Coca-Cola Studios Pakistan, who discovered a YouTube video of Torwari singing the traditional folk song “Zo” or “Zujo” while tending to animals in the highland pastures. The video of the performance, filmed by a foreign tourist in 2021, was widely shared on social media platforms.

“Before Coke Studio [appearance]”I never traveled outside Tapeshban, I never studied at school,” Torwari told Arab News in an interview. “I played cricket, hung out with friends all my life and herded cows. That was my whole life.”

But for Torwari, things have changed since Coke Studio.

“I am really happy with the response, respect and fame I have received after releasing this song. [featured in Coke Studio] And now a lot of people know me.”

Shepherds have no formal training in singing or music.

“At weddings, other people would sing ‘Zo’ and ‘Zujo’ and I would silently memorise and imitate them from my childhood,” he says. “While the cows were grazing, I would sing ‘Zo’ and ‘Zujo’ to relax and feel happy.”

“A great honor”

One of six siblings, Torwari lives in a mountain hamlet of around 50 houses with a population of fewer than 250 people who depend mainly on their livestock for survival.

Three years ago, a group of Belgian tourists visited the region with Malak Abrar Ahmad Khan, a promoter of Torwari culture, and recorded him singing folk songs.

“Nizam came and performed ‘Zo’ and ‘Zjo’ for us and we made a video that went viral,” Khan told Arab News. “Then I got a call from Coke Studio producer Shurufi Bai, who wanted to meet me. That’s how it all started.”

But convincing the young shepherd to leave his village to record in Lahore was not easy.

“We tried hard to convince his family but we had to postpone the trip for three days as the Nizam fled to pasture,” Khan said, describing how Torwari was “overwhelmed” by city life when the group finally reached Lahore.

Since then, everything has changed for the young man.

“People come up, hug me and take pictures with me,” Torwari said. “To them, I am Nizam Torwari who sang at Coke Studios. It is a great honour and happiness for me.”

Torwari is particularly excited to represent his people and language, which are considered endangered, on a major musical platform and to bring to the public the Torwari culture with its rich traditional folklore.

“The Nizam had hundreds of thousands of [Torwali] “Singers and poets,” Zubair Torwari, a writer and activist who advocates for the rights of marginalized ethnic communities in northern Pakistan, told Arab News. “We have a rich culture. [the language] “Coca-Cola Studios has helped us reach a larger audience across the country.”

And this is just the beginning.

“I want Zjo to spread not only in Pakistan but all over the world,” Torwari said. “I want the world to know that Nizam sings. I don’t want it to end here, I want to keep singing. This is just the beginning.”