The undisputed King of Sufi music, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan holds an unparalleled place in international music folklore and remains a source of national pride for Pakistan. With his soulful tunes to mesmerizing vocals, spontaneous shifts in tempo, magical changes of pitch, combined with poetry that sears the hearts, Nusrat’s music moves the listener into a completely different, trance-like state. He was not only a singer par excellence, he was a musical icon whose music knew no boundaries and touched even those who were unfortunate enough to not understand his words, but fortunate enough to feel them being absorbed by their souls.
A Family of Musicians
Born in 1948, in the equally majestic city of Faisalabad, Punjab, Khan Sahab was the fifth child of Fateh Ali Khan, a popular Qawwal himself. The first of two sons, he developed a love for the art of Qawwali at a very young age. However, according to the great singer’s own words, his father was against him pursuing Qawwali as a career and wanted him to choose a more ‘respectful’ career.
“He knew it was a hard life and he told me that you have to practice a lot since this is a very demanding profession,” the Qawwali Maestro says, remembering how his father believed that his son did not have the mettle to survive as a Qawwal, due to his own harsh experiences with the 600 year-old art form.
“At a time when there were no radios or televisions, my father walked miles and miles to go and perform his art. In times of absolutely no technological facilities, my father made a lot of sacrifices, worked hard, performed amicably, and made himself known in Pakistan, India, and a lot of the western countries.”
Source: behance.net
Birth of a Star
Khan Sahab clearly remembers that his father thought that his son would never be able to make the necessary sacrifices to succeed in the profession, which is why he always told his older son to make music his hobby and not consider it as a profession. However, the little enthusiastic and rebellious kid always hid behind the curtains and listened secretly to his father teaching his students, soon learning bits and pieces of Qawwali on his own.
Source: Nusrat Online
“He caught me hiding behind the curtain one day, peeking through passionately.” That was the day Fateh Ali Khan Sahab realized that his son was no ordinary child. “That was the day he agreed to get me taught properly,” says Khan Sahab.
This was the day the legend of Nusrat Ali Khan was born.
The world waited for a few more years before this gem was unearthed. Ironically, it happened at the chehlum (fortieth day of death) of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s his father, his teacher, his mentor, and his first ever fan.
Rise of a Star
After taking over as the head of the family Qawwali clan, from his father and then his uncle, Khan Sahab’s first public appearance came in 1971, as part of a musical festival arranged by Radio Pakistan. The festival was aptly titled ‘Jashn-e-Baharan’ (or ‘The Celebration of Springtime’), and marked the start of the blooming of a beautiful flower whom we all could proudly call our own.
Soon after, in 1975, a local recording company in Faisalabad, Rehmat Gramophone Company, released his first Qawwali album, after which the star of NFAK started shooting skywards.
Source: NusratOnline
Bollywood Fame
Bollywood legend, Raj Kapoor, who was a devoted admirer of Fateh Ali Khan and his brother, Mubarak Ali Khan, invited their protégée to India to attend his son Rashi Kapoor’s wedding in 1980, where several notable members of the Indian film industry heard him perform. The Indian Qawwali spectrum became avid aficionados of the great maestro, his range, tempo, tone and powerful vocals soon made their way into mainstream Bollywood movies.
Thanks to the popularity he gained from Bollywood, Khan Sahab produced musical pieces that dazzled the mind and calmed the soul for the next two decades; pieces that triggered a wide range of emotions in its listeners – from joy, to love, to deep sorrow, to pure ecstasy.
Source: NusratOnline
International Phenomenon
In 1985, he performed at the World of Music, Arts, and Dance festival in London, UK, a performance that not only elevated his status as a top level performer, but also helped put Pakistan on the map as a country that gives birth to effortlessly talented individuals. Following his brilliance in the UK, he went onto perform all around the world, including in Paris, Tokyo, and all across the US, where he began to perform his music without regard to genre or tradition. The strength of his vocals coupled with his neat improvisations, such as the use of raag, brought a new, fresh dimension into the otherwise traditional world of Qawwali. This change in the style of traditional Qawwali, and the openness to this otherwise reserved genre of music, led to the popularization of Sufi music across both geographical and musical boundaries.
Source: BBC
Khan Sahab and the West
The greatest example of his art form crossing musical and geographical boundaries was when he collaborated with celebrated British musician, Peter Gabriel, to produce music that blended the soulful Qawwali music with the orthodox Western music. Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder also collaborated with Khan Sahab on two songs for the movie Dead Man Walking. Canadian musical composer, Michael Brook, helped increase the accessibility of Khan Sahab’s vocalizations by fusing them within Western metrical structures. A performer whose musical performances had a feeling of religious rituality, Khan Sahab was a firm believer, and believed in the universality of the musical message, and strived to make his music transcend religious and cultural boundaries.
According to the great man’s own words,
“Sufi music tries to banish the hatred living within all human beings. It does not belong to any one culture, but to all of us. It stands for bhaichara (brotherhood). The great Sufis have said that there is no value in prayer if your soul is not clean, no value of bathing in the Ganga if your thoughts are impure. God is to be achieved through love. Muhabbat (love) is the ultimate reality.”
Source: ApnaOrg
Untimely Death
After two decades of producing poignant music that gave the world hit numbers such as the majestic ‘Allah Hoo’, the intoxicating ‘Ye Jo Halka Halka Suroor Hai’, the most popular love track ‘Tumhain Dillagi Bhool’, and the evergreen ‘Masst Masst’ and ‘Lal Shahbaz Qalandar’, Khan Sahab passed away in 1997, at the youthful age of 48.
Peter Gabriel, at the time of Khan Sahab’s death, said that NFAK was one of the highlights of his career and that the Sufi singer was taken away far too early. Widely dubbed as the father of ‘world music’, Khan Sahab had a lasting impression on anyone who met him or had the privilege of performing alongside him.Source: PakMusic
Legacy
He held the world record for releasing the most Qawwali albums (125), many of which were compiled and released after his death. His unparalleled repertoire, which extends to more than 10,000 songs and several Academy Award nominations, is well-known and can never be forgotten.
Several books have been written on this music magician, most notable of which were written by French author Pierre-Alain Baud, titled ‘Le Messager du Qawwali’ and ‘The Voice of Faith’, which beautifully capture the roots, lineage, and the trajectory of the stellar phenomenon, haunted by the divine, and the rich and enduring legacy the Shehenshah-e-Qawwali left for listeners everywhere.
His death only fueled the fire that burns in the hearts of his admirers, who will forever take his name with high regard and utmost adoration. How appropriate are these words from his hit single, ‘Wo Hata Rahay Hain Parda’:
Ye jo hichkiyan musalsal, Mujhe aa rahi hain alam,
Koi le raha hai shayed, Koi le raha hai shayed,
Mera naam chupke chupke
The entire world is and always will be taking his name, albeit loudly. Not ‘chupke chupke‘.Source: pakshowbiz
