Remembering a legend

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Remembering a legend
Goher Iqbal Punn Posted: 2003-01-31 00:00:00+05:30 IST Font -A

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Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was arguably one Print Email Newsletter Post Comments RSS of the greatest qawwals (Sufi singers) and one of the most popular singers in the Indian sub-continent. Though he predominantly sang qawwali, a form of devotional Sufism, he incorporated other forms of music, including Khayal (traditional classical music) into his singing, to come up with a unique style which appealed to followers of all religions. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khans renditions transcend religious boundaries and his music caresses the soul with its passion. MIDBANNER Born on October 13, 1948, in Lyallpur (later renamed Faisalabad), Pakistan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan belonged to the family of qawwals. His family had been singing qawwalis for six centuries. He was the son of Ustad Fateh Ali Khan and the nephew of Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan, both of whom, in the last five decades, were considered masters of qawwali. Nusrats father, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan was a musicologist, vocalist and instrumentalist. When he died in 1964, Nusrat was in the 10th standard. After his fathers death, the onus of continuing the tradition of qawwali-singing fell on Nusrat, and he was compelled to join the qawwali group (consisting of trained Pakistani musicians, which included several family members). Under the guidance of his paternal uncle Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan, he became the groups leader, which was renamed Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan & Party. Within no time, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khans popularity spread. The legendary singer became popular even with Indian film stars. In 1979, he was invited by Raj Kapoor to sing at his son Rishi Kapoors wedding party. Renowned cricketer Imran Khan played a significant role in making Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan popular around the world in the early years of his career by inviting him to sing at functions hosted by him, and attended by well-known personalities of the world. Imran liked the singers voice, and had once said, I get spiritual comfort whenever I listen to Nusrat. The singer had also expressed in his interviews that Imran Khans friendship helped him in his career initially. Through the 70s and 80s, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khans music gained worldwide recognition and he started touring the globe for concerts. He gave a sophisticated touch to the qawwali that made him stand out among the other fellow qawwals. He even sang and scored music for some Indian films since he was a craze in the Hindi film industry. Many filmmakers wanted him to sing and score music for their films, but due to his busy schedule and world tours, he didnt have time for all. Among the Hindi films he composed for are Aur Pyar Ho Gaya starring Bobby Deol and Aishwarya Rai, and Kachche Dhaage starring Ajay Devgan and Saif Ali Khan. Needless to say, the songs of both films topped the charts. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan also worked on some non-film albums like Awargi and Salam, in which he collaborated with renowned lyricist Javed Akhtar. Among his most popular non-film songs with Akhtar is Aafreen aafreen.... Film composers in India looked up to him and his tunes have been copied by some. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan also composed music for Pakistani films. The singers contribution to qawwali is immense and it can be said that he re-vitalised qawwali, making it an internationally acclaimed art form. From Birmingham to Mumbai, Tokyo to Toronto, his concerts and new recordings were eagerly awaited. Whether he was performing at music festivals, or for world leaders, or at the shrines of the Sufi saints in Punjab or Hazrat Khawaja Moin-ud-Din Chishties shrine in Ajmer, he transported listeners to the realms of the sublime. Some critics accused him of corrupting the traditional qawwali by introducing innovations in it. But he reasoned that his innovations made the qawwali move with the present time, and kept it alive. It is the responsibility of musicians to make music for the people of their time, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan always emphasised. World renowned artists, as diverse as Massive Attack, Eddie Vedder and Peter Gabriel acknowledge Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan as one of the worlds most inspired and inspiring singers. Jeff Buckley described his first experience on hearing the voice of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, saying, The first time I heard the voice of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was in Harlem, in 1990. My room-mate and I stood there blasting it in his room. We were all awash in the thick, undulating tide of dark Punjabi tabla rhythms, spiked with synchronised hand-claps booming from above and below in hard, perfect time. I heard the clarion call of harmoniums dancing the antique melody around like giant, singing wooden spiders. Then, all of a sudden, the rising of one, then ten voices hovering over the tone like a flock of geese ascending into formation across the sky. Then came the voice of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Part Buddha, part demon, part mad angel his voice is velvet fire, simply incomparable. Nusrats blending of classical improvisations to the art of qawwali, combined with his out and dare-devil style, and his sensitivity, puts him in a category all his own, above all others in his field. His very enunciation went straight into me. I knew no one word of Urdu, and somehow it still hooked me into story that he weaved with his wordless voice. I remember my senses fully froze in order to feel melody after melody crash upon each other in waves of improvisations; with each line being repeated by the men in chorus, restated again by the main soloists, and then Nusrat setting the whole bloody thing aflame with his rapid-fire scatting, turning classical Indian Solfeggio (Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni Sa) into a chaotic/manic birdsong. The phrase burst into a climax somewhere, with Nusrats upper register painting a melody that made my heart long to fly. The piece went on for 15 minutes. I ate my heart out. I felt a rush of

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Remembering a legend

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adrenaline in my chest, like I was on the edge of a cliff, wondering when I would jump and how well the ocean would catch me. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was an international sensation, fusing traditional Pakistani and Indian chants, with Western pop and classical forms, bridging political divides in the process. He composed music for several films of international repute, including Martin Scorseses Last Temptation Of Christ, Oliver Stones Natural Born Killers, Tim Robbins Dead Man Walking (including two duets with Vedder), and Shekhar Kapurs Bandit Queen (Indias controversial Hindi film). He worked with British ravers Massive Attack, and had invited Joan Osborne to study with him in Pakistan. The singer had also announced plans to record an experimental album with Luciano Pavarotti. Besides, he was also invited to perform with Michael Jackson and Madonna, but health problems held him back. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan recorded around 120 albums during his near 30-year career. Along the way, he collected Lifetime Achievement awards in France, Japan and Pakistan. He earned a Grammy nomination in 1997 in the Traditional Folk Album category for his album Intoxicated Spirit. He was signed by the US music company American Recordings in 1996, and subsequently launched his first North American tour, playing to celebrity-packed houses along the way. It was during this tour that American audiences learned what international fans already knew about Ustads hypnotic performances, which were transcendental, transporting listeners to the state which Sufis describe as Ishq, or the harmonic co-existence of earthly passion and divine love even though most listeners were unfamiliar with the Urdu lyrics. The collaboration of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan with Michael Brook resulted in Mustt Mustt (released in 1990, it was voted one of the decades Top 100 albums by Alternative Press) and Night Song. The singer worked with experimental composer Brook to give his sound a Western orientation. However, while Mustt Mustt was the product of the artists separated efforts, Night Song was written together. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan also worked with Real World Records founded by Peter Gabriel (Last Temptation Of Christ soundtrack) and Eddie Vedder (Dead Man Walking soundtrack). The music company later released an album of dance remixes of Nusrats work. Gabriels admiration for Nusrats singing led to him working with WOMAD on various projects, including a compilation album and many festival appearances. When Bally Sagoo (among the pioneers of remixes) was invited by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Sagoo to work with him on some songs, the former couldnt believe his ears, and felt honoured. In the sub-continent, Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs alike appreciated Nusrat Fateh Ali Khans mesmerising music, who, with his unrivalled talent and passion for music, unified audiences. 13th century Sufi poet and mystic Amir Khusrau had said that music was the fire that burnt heart and soul. In the 20th century, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was surely the propagator of that fire. The singer won many honours for himself, including Pakistan governments Pride of Performance in 1986. After his US tour, the American government asked Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to teach his music to the university students in America. On August 16, 1997, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan passed away at Cromwell Hospital, in London, due to liver and kidney failure, at the age of 49. He had been heading to the US for a kidney transplant but stopped over for a few days in London, where his condition worsened. The singer had been plagued with numerous health problems, linked to him being over-weight. He was buried in Faislabad (his birthplace), and his death was mourned all over the world. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khans contribution to qawwali, classical and Sufi music is unparallelled. His fans will never forget this meteor of the music world.

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