Of Music, Love and God - II

"Sanu ek pal chaen na aave..
Oh sanu ek pal chaen na aave...
Sajna tere bina...
Oh sajna tere bina..."

For the untrained ear...it may have felt as if they were walking into a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan concert. It was not to be....for there sat seven men...surrounded by monitors and candles...wielding their instruments...dressed in their best...with an enchanting voice...reciting Qwwalis to the mesmerised crowd before them. Having grown up listening to Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's qwwalis being echoed through my home in Pakistan...I had never listened to a live performance of qwwali before...i'm glad i didn't miss this chance.

I could manage to understand most of the lyrics that they sang... but the music and not the lyrics did most of the talking this time. The tabla...the harmonium...the dholak....and one man clapping to give rhythm while the three ustads led the vocals. The way they sang...the rise...the falls...the turns...the pauses. They sang in Urdu...in Hindi...in Punjabi. They sang of Love...of God...of Peace...as I came to understand the meaning of "Sufism". Krishna and Khuda were there in the same place...

"Ab tu hi hai, tu hi hai ke tu...
Ab tu hi hai, tu hi hai ke tu...
Ab tu hi hai, tu hi hai ke tu...
Aur rahega bhi tu."

Sitting there listening to a form of music which is solemnly heard...life seemed to become peaceful all of a sudden. My hands ached from the clapping...but the rhythm was too enchanting to get away from. They ended the two hour performance with a breathtaking recital of the famous song...

"Dama dam mast qalandar...
Ali dam dam de andar...
Dama dam mast qalandar...
Ali da pehla number..."