Nusrat fateh Ali Khan,

Nusrat was born in Faisalabad, Punjab on October 13, 1948 to Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, a distinguished musicologist, vocalist, instrumentalist, and skilled Qawwali performer. He had one brother, Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan. Initially, his father did not want Nusrat to follow him into the Qawwali business. He had his heart set on Nusrat choosing a much more respectable career path and becoming a doctor, because he felt south asian Qawwali artists had low social status. However, Nusrat showed such an aptitude for, and interest in, Qawwali that his father finally relented and started to train him in the art of Qawwali and he was also taught to sing within the classical framework of Khayal. This training was still incomplete when Ustad Fateh Ali Khan died in 1964 while Nusrat was still in school, and the training was continued by Nusrat's paternal uncle, Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan. Ten days after his father's death, Nusrat had a dream where his father came to him and told him to sing, touching his throat. Nusrat woke up singing, and was moved by the dream to decide that he would make Qawwali his career. His first public performance was at his father's funeral ceremony forty days later. Under the guidance of Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan, he became the group's leader in 1965 and the group was called Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan & Party. ("Party" is the term used in Qawwali for the supporting members of the group).

Sufi And Qawali Music

The Qawali is inextricably linked to the Sufi tradition; Sufism is a mystical school of Islamic thought which strives to attain truth and divine love by direct personal experience. In Arabic, this mysticism is known as tasawwuf. The difference between Sufism and mainstream Islam is simple. All Muslims believe that man is on a path to God (tariqah). However, where the mainstream Muslim believes that it is only possible to reach God after death at the final judgement, the Sufi believes that it is possible to reach God during ones life. To this end there are a number of different techniques and methods. The Qu'ran instructs man to remember God. This remembrance, known as dhikr, maybe either silent of vocal. The Qawali maybe viewed as an extension of the vocal form of this remembrance. By the end of the 11th century, there arose the tradition of the Sama. The Sama was often a spiritual concert, which included a vocalist and instrumentalists. These Samas took place under the direction of a spiritually respected man (Sheikh). There is a very specific psychological process which a Qawali follows. One starts with the singing of the song. In this psychological state the song is received in a manner that is not unlike standard forms of musical expression. The words are sung, quite repeatedly with variations intended to bring out deeper means of the lyrics. After awhile there is a repetition to the extent that the words cease to have a meaning. It is the goal here to lead the listener and performer alike into a trance (hal). In the ideal situation the participant is moved to a state of spiritual enlightenment (fana). One man who was inspired by the Hazrat Nizamuddin was Amir Khusru (1254- 1324). He was born in Mominpur (Padilla). His father was originally from Turkey, this gave the young boy a broader exposure to the rest of the Islamic world. His father died when he was eight years old, whereupon the job of raising him fell to his maternal grandfather. Amir Khusru was a legendary musician, statesman and philosopher. It is said that he was the advisor to 11 rulers of Delhi, particularly the rulers of the Khilji Dynasty Amir Khusru is so important to the development of Qawali that he is often (e rroneously) said to be the inventor of it. It is said that he mixed the various musical elements from Turkey, greater Persia and India together. Even today, we find the curious mixture of Persian moqquams with Indian rags. Recent years have seen the Qawali thrust into the international arena by such singers as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the Sabri brothers. Their fusion of traditional Indo-Pakistani influences with Western music has created quite a stir in the music world. In Pakistan alone their are over 2000 Qawali groups.