The Qawwali Project – An Untold Story

The Qawwals in casual practice under a shade of the old Banyan tree next to their house in the premises of the Qadiri Shrine. Even a practice session by them becomes a sort of mehfil for people to stop by, sit and listen. A group of Qawwali musicians, called a party, typically consists of eight or nine men including the lead singer after whom the party is named, one or two side singers, one or two harmoniums and on percussions, one tabla and the dholak.

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.