The Qawwali Project – An Untold Story

Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya is recognized as the greatest Sufi saint of his times and his broad-mindedness, liberal attitude, and religious tolerance brought him immense popularity. The celebration of Basant at his Shrine is ecstatic, the mood a euphoric yellow, every one dressed in yellow and random showering of yellow petals all the while the Qawwals are singing songs of spring and Basant. A tradition that started during his lifetime, sometime in 13th century, continues unbroken till date even after seven hundred years.

Listen to one of the traditional 700 year old compositions of Basant on this link.

The Qawwali Project, is an initiative conceptualized by Manjari Chaturvedi where the untold story of Qawwali unfolds through the eyes of photographers. The practitioners are photo-documented with their performance art, their lives and their association with the Sufi shrines where they perform. Qawwali is the performance art and Qawwal is the practitioner. This is an attempt by the Sufi Kathak Foundation to document the traditions as they exist at the shrines itself.