Adil Najam
This post was originally posted on October 19, 2006. It is being reposted with the addition of some new Qawali video clips.
As I was driving back from work tonight, I had an old Sabri Brothers cassette playing in my car. The window was down, the sound was loud. As I stopped at a red light, my head still nodding to the rhythms, I noticed that the American woman in the car parked next to me was staring at me with a rather perplexed look (Bostonians don’t often get to hear the Sabri bradraan!). She shouted over the music to ask me what type of music this was and from where. I smiled and told her. I am not sure if she heard what I said over the noise because the light turned green just then and we went our different ways.
I guess she left wondering what the beat and sound was about. I left wondering what has happening to qawalli in Pakistan today? Who are the big names out there? Are there any? Is there any Ghulam Farid Sabri, Aziz Mian, Nusrat Fateh Ali equivalent out there? I know of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, but he seems to be mostly re-rendering Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s work. Who else?
I was a qawalli fan while I was still in school; long before there was a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and long before it was kool to be a qawalli fan. I don’t know why I was a fan; no one else around me was. I guess the beat was enticing, the stories interesting, and the qawals colorful. I suspect that those around me thought it was rather odd that I liked qawalli so much; but then, people around me have always considered me odd!
This was the era when the Sabri Brothers Qawall and Aziz Mian Qawall were at the peak of their prowess. They were both major innovators of the qawalli genre.
I guess I like qawalli for the same reason I like Johnny Cash and Waris Shah. They all have great stories to tell. And what could be more enticing than a good beat combined with a good story!
I found this video clip of this Sabri Brothers Qawall
And while we are at it here is a clip of a classical Aziz Mian performance:
i am qawwali form pakistan …web .www.alimohammedtaji.com
Until many years ago Qawwali used to be a part of our culture. There used to be qawwali functions held by friends atleast once a year. It’s a pity that qawwali has faded out of our culture and now we hardly have a chance to attend any qawwali function. It’s the same with mushairas. Qawalli is an specialized art, listening to it is soothing to mind, rather ecstatic. Thanks to modern science and a few qawwali fans that we can see some qawwali on the internet nowadays. I think some steps should be taken to preserve this ‘sufic’ style of ‘amusement’ which is rapidly dying down the common scene. I am not sure whether we have a qawwali association in Pakistan or elsewhere? This specialized art certainly needs cultural protection.
Farid Ayaz Qawwal and his brother Abu Muhammad make a great team. In Feb 2006 there was a south asian music festival at Stanford. Farid Ayaz and party drew the largest crowds overshadowing other perfromances.
BBCurdu.com also had a one hour concert with Farid Ayaz posted on their website. It was a great one. Some of their qawwalis that I like the best are:
– Meray banay ki baat no poocho
– Sakhi ka say kahoon
– Mera piya ghar aya
All 3 are available on youtube.com
Qawwali is the Mystique way of transferring real stories about miracles of the Prophets and Walis and there is a great spirit in this many ppl dnt understand this and jus say that the listener is crazy but in tumhe dillagi hoto ke paas aaye hasi kya majaal hai ye…. the person huu is addicted to this music knws the fact only no1 else
Salaam alikum;
i salute sabri brothers for giving us opportunity to hear their quawalis and other musics.May Allah give them long lif
e to serve the people at large
with warmest wishes
pishu khushalani