The Qawwali Project – An Untold Story

Ustad Qawwal Meraj Ahmed Nizami traces his lineage way back to the Qawwal Bacche, the sons of the original Qawwal singers trained by Amir Khusro in late 13th century. He says his family has continued the tradition unbroken for over 700 years and 30 generations. In informal training sessions at his own house located in the surrounding premises of Dargah Nizamuddin, he teaches his sons as part of unbroken oral tradition.

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.