<p>Chirping birds went back to their nests and proceeded to provide a noisy background score to peaceful environs of Rose Garden inside IIC, last Saturday evening. <br /><br /></p>.<p>But even the birds quietened down upon hearing the melodious notes of qawwali which then proceeded to make the evening very memorable!<br /><br />Organised by Routes 2 Roots, ICCR and Sufi Kathak Foundation, the event 'Understanding Qawwali' did not restrain itself to just this evening performance but had been preceded by a symposium on the traditional art form of Qawwali.<br /><br /> This included lectures by eminent personalities such as musician and scholar, Madan Gopal Singh, Sufi vocalist Dhruv Sangari, dhrupad exponent Padamshri Ustad F. Wasifuddin Dagar and documentary screenings of Sufi Sama by Yousuf Saeed and The Qawwals by Amit Mehra. A round of question and answers had experts and music lovers engaging in a dialogue about the traditions of this lively genre of music.<br /><br />The evening saw Nurul Hassan and group, traditional Qawwals from Awadh and Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali group from Pakistan, take to the stage to render brilliant compositions which left the audiences asking for an encore. <br /><br />The evening began on a soft note with Nurul Hassan singing Mun kun to maula which transposed the audience to another world. This was followed by a rendition of Phool rahi hai sarson and finally the popular composition of Chaap tilak which the audiences enjoyed singing along with.<br /><br /> Associated with the holy shrine of Sufi saint, Deva Sharif near Lucknow, Nurul Hassan’s traditional Qawwali compositions use a wide repertoire of local languages and dialects like Awadhi, Braj Bhasha, Khari Boli and Punjabi.<br /><br />It was then time for the much-awaited Rizwan-Muazzam qawwals, headed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s nephews, Rizwan and Muazzam, to present their traditional style qawaalis. Beginning with a Persian composition Allah ho Allah ho, they continued with Na me danam chey and then sung more popular ones like Main jaana jogi dey naal and Damadam mast kalandar to win the hearts of everyone present. <br /><br />The audience loved their performance and especially the last two qawaalis which are rather popular and thus were enjoyed more. Rizwan after the performance spoke with Metrolife, “We are trying to take it forward from where Khan saab (Nusrat Fateh Ali) left qawwali so that people can listen to the original form. <br /><br />We sing Punjabi love songs and ghazals but those are only for entertainment. Qawwali is our main focus as this form connects us to God. It is the same as it was before but we have only added more instruments and the selection of poetry depends on what the audiences are more comfortable with.”<br /><br />In particular, the compositions of Amir Khusrau become favorites as they are written in simple yet highly poetical language and speak of his love of God. The rendition of these qawwalis brought Delhiites immense pleasure as they sang and clapped throughout the evening.<br /></p>
<p>Chirping birds went back to their nests and proceeded to provide a noisy background score to peaceful environs of Rose Garden inside IIC, last Saturday evening. <br /><br /></p>.<p>But even the birds quietened down upon hearing the melodious notes of qawwali which then proceeded to make the evening very memorable!<br /><br />Organised by Routes 2 Roots, ICCR and Sufi Kathak Foundation, the event 'Understanding Qawwali' did not restrain itself to just this evening performance but had been preceded by a symposium on the traditional art form of Qawwali.<br /><br /> This included lectures by eminent personalities such as musician and scholar, Madan Gopal Singh, Sufi vocalist Dhruv Sangari, dhrupad exponent Padamshri Ustad F. Wasifuddin Dagar and documentary screenings of Sufi Sama by Yousuf Saeed and The Qawwals by Amit Mehra. A round of question and answers had experts and music lovers engaging in a dialogue about the traditions of this lively genre of music.<br /><br />The evening saw Nurul Hassan and group, traditional Qawwals from Awadh and Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali group from Pakistan, take to the stage to render brilliant compositions which left the audiences asking for an encore. <br /><br />The evening began on a soft note with Nurul Hassan singing Mun kun to maula which transposed the audience to another world. This was followed by a rendition of Phool rahi hai sarson and finally the popular composition of Chaap tilak which the audiences enjoyed singing along with.<br /><br /> Associated with the holy shrine of Sufi saint, Deva Sharif near Lucknow, Nurul Hassan’s traditional Qawwali compositions use a wide repertoire of local languages and dialects like Awadhi, Braj Bhasha, Khari Boli and Punjabi.<br /><br />It was then time for the much-awaited Rizwan-Muazzam qawwals, headed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s nephews, Rizwan and Muazzam, to present their traditional style qawaalis. Beginning with a Persian composition Allah ho Allah ho, they continued with Na me danam chey and then sung more popular ones like Main jaana jogi dey naal and Damadam mast kalandar to win the hearts of everyone present. <br /><br />The audience loved their performance and especially the last two qawaalis which are rather popular and thus were enjoyed more. Rizwan after the performance spoke with Metrolife, “We are trying to take it forward from where Khan saab (Nusrat Fateh Ali) left qawwali so that people can listen to the original form. <br /><br />We sing Punjabi love songs and ghazals but those are only for entertainment. Qawwali is our main focus as this form connects us to God. It is the same as it was before but we have only added more instruments and the selection of poetry depends on what the audiences are more comfortable with.”<br /><br />In particular, the compositions of Amir Khusrau become favorites as they are written in simple yet highly poetical language and speak of his love of God. The rendition of these qawwalis brought Delhiites immense pleasure as they sang and clapped throughout the evening.<br /></p>
