Abida Parveen: Ho Jamalo

Posted on November 15, 2008
Filed Under >Adil Najam, Culture & Heritage, Music, People, Poetry
14 Comments
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Adil Najam

We come from a land of some amazing folk anthems. But none, at least for me, has the all-encompassing trance-enducing effect that Ho Jamallo has.

Of course, you cannot possibly sit still through any rendition of Shahbaz Qalandar, but nothing makes one lose ones sense of presence in the present quite the way that Ho Jamallo does. And who better to sing it than Abida Parveen.

This rendition is just as it should be. “Led” by Abida Parveen but sung by the entire room. Every time I listen to this, I feel like wanting to join that first guy who gets up to dance – I, too, cannot dance!

I probably would not get up to dance. But I know exactly the state that he is in. In many ways he – and those who join him – embody the spirit of this anthem even more than Abida Parveen does. It seems that for Abida Parveen, as for them, this is not a “performance” for the audience. This is a “performance” for one’s own self. And, of course, the pinnacle of all art has to be that which you perform for yourself.

I know enough Sindhi to follow some, but not all, of what the words mean. I have not been able to find a good translation and maybe we should all pool our skills to put one together here.

I am hoping that our friend Mast Qalandar (aka Aziz Akhmad) will find it in him to do a post on the history and meaning behind “Ho Jamalo.” I have been able to find little snipets of what this means and why. Maybe, those who know better can fill us in on the details.

Help us, please, write this post.

What is the history of this song and the “Ho Jamalo” chant? What do these words mean? And why does thsi have the effect it has even on those of us who only partially understand the words?

I had really hoped to write a post on all of that, but everytime I hear the song I go into a trance and feel that maybe I should be dancing to the song rather than writing about it!

Also see at ATP:
Faiz Mohammad Baloch: A True Performer
Tribute to a Musical Giant: Khamisu Khan and Son
Tufail Niazi: An Amazing Singer’s Amazing Story
Today in Kot Addu: Remembering Pathanay Khan
Rahim Shah: Going Beyond the Frontier
Atta Ullah Eesakhelvi and the Cassette Revolution
Reshma and Son: The Voice of the Desert

14 responses to “Abida Parveen: Ho Jamalo”

  1. Tina says:

    I have seen Abida Parween perform back in the 1990s, but recently heard that she has passed away. Is this true? And if so when did she die?

  2. Misbah Kasi says:

    dear Mr. Adil,

    The way you have discribed the feeling when Ho Jamalo is played is great. I think yhats how most of us feel. I have at an ocasion or 2 my self danced at this tone at some wedding in some village in quetta.
    And you are so right “its is a performance for one self”. Our folk heretege is so awsome but unfortunately we are slowly loosing it.

    I have been visiting pakistaniat.com for quite some time now and i really like the content and the maturity of the people here. I have read alot of articles and blogs but never have written my comments untill today. Idont know why i really liked the way you talked abt ho jamallo. I simply love it too.

  3. MQ says:

    MQ

    I don’t know which part of the brain this kind of music affects, but Abida Parveen’s music, her tone and tenor combined with the mystic poetry that she chooses to sing, has an uplifting effect. It sends you in a kind of a trance. That’s how I feel when I listen to it.

    The other day, a nice bright day, when I stepped out of my apartment armed with my IPod, which has a few Abida Parveen songs on it, our concierge, a young friendly Purto Rican woman, sitting behind the counter, asked me what kind of music I was listening to. I handed her one of the earpieces of my IPotd, which she put into her ear. It was Abida Parveen’s song ‘Daman lagi aaN, maula maiN tau teri aaN’. Those of you who have heard the song would know the song starts with Abida raising her voice in a haunting spiritual chant: Maulaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa paak muqaddas dar hai teraaa.

    I watched the expression on the face of the concierge change from a curious smile to a joyous glow, and she got up from the chair said, almost shouting, ‘Wooooow!!!’ and then asked me ‘What is she saying?’. I guess, if she had understood the words she would have actually started dancing in the lobby. l

    I have noted Adil Najam’s request and AHsn’s endorsement. When I go back to Islamabad in a week or two (now that I hear load-shedding is down to only 2 hours a day), I will see what can I find on Ho Jamalo and Shahbaz Qalandar and will certainly share with ATP.

  4. AHsn says:

    She is great. The rendition of Urdu Ghazal by Abida Parveen is remarkable . My favourite is:

    s*afaq, dh*anak, mahtAb, gh*aTAaeyN, tAreY naghmeT, bijly, ph*Wl
    Aus dAman meyN keyA kuj* haY, woh dAman hAth* meyN aeY tw

    I very strongly support your suggestion that Mast Qalandar writes a post on Jamalo, Abida Parveen and Shahbaz Qalandar. Firstly, who can do a better job on Shahbaz Qalandar than Mast Qalansar?.Secondly, I find he is wasting his time and energy by involving himself in a political war against corruption in journalism. This war itself is just, but the problem is that he is doing it on behalf of some well placed gangsters against a lonely and self Don Quixote

    N.B. W= wao w with sound oo, j*=ch, s*=sh

  5. LOST HOPE says:

    ABIDA KAFIES ARE BEST .
    Dear Adil Sahib .im your fan from your ptv time.this is my last comment on your site.
    APP LOG ZINDAGI ENJOY KARO KIA APP LOGO KA MAZA KHARAB KARNA.
    THE BOY MENTION UNDER HAS SOME MUSIC TASTE TOO BUT I PRAY THAT AFTER LOSING HIS 2ND CHANCE I.HE DO NOT JOIN A GANG OF GANGSTERS.
    SACHA WAQIA,aik dako karachi ki mini bas main bhikari ky roop main chrha or ALLAH ky nam bheek mangi.kisi na di or
    T.T ky nam sab kuch dy dia.
    I know most of you people not live in Pakistan so you can not understand what is going on here .our beloved country is become a factory of criminals why ,we all know ?
    CHORO YAR CHALO KOI GANA SHANA
    KOI DHAMAL SHAMAL KARTY HAIN .

    HURRY UP ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT.
    I KNOW NO BODY WILL HELP THIS POOR CHILD
    BUT MY HOPE IS STILL ALIVE.
    Beg A Cause.
    We PEELA (yellow) school class have a fault to keep dreaming
    For equal opportunity Pakistan.
    Lets read a true story and sleep tight.
    Last year Baba Qasim (a very old electrician) come to me for chit chat.
    He was very happy as his son passed metric (10th grade ) with
    Good marks.
    He had lot of dreams in his eyes for his son

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