The Qawwali Project – An Untold Story by Dinesh KhannaSufi Kathak Foundation
Singing at the Threshold
The way Qawwali is sung today, the present form and structure of music is credited to Amir Khusrau in the late 13th century. Qawwali became a new cultural and aesthetic expression by blending elements from Turkey, Persia and India. Amir Khusrau himself was of Turkish origin. The musical tradition continues unbroken at the shrines.
A traditional haazri (singing) at the shrine by Dhruv Sangari (Bilal Chisty), a leading, popular Qawwal from the new generation of practitioners. Qawwali Practitioner: Dhruv Sangari (Bilal Chisty).
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 at the Sufi shrines where they perform. Qawwali is the performance art and Qawwal is the practitioner. This is an attempt to document the traditions as they exist at the shrines.
The Qawwali Project – An Untold Story by Dinesh KhannaSufi Kathak Foundation
The young Qutubi Brothers are from a family that has performed at the shrine of Hazrat Qutubuddin Bhaktiyar Kaki for generations, and take their name from the saint. The Sufis believe that music and singing the praises of Allah is a way to reach the Almighty. For centuries Qawwali has continued to move the hearts of performers and listeners, an unbroken tradition since the late 13th century.
A steady stream of devotees keep walking in through covered passages lined with shops selling offerings of flowers, incense, the chadar (cloth covering) and in all its simplicity of joined voices, clapping, a harmonium and a percussion tabla. This music becomes their voice of prayer to the Saint. Qawwali Practitioners: Qutubi Brothers
Dhruv Sangari (Bilal Chisty) is a leading, popular Qawwal from the new generation of practitioners. Qawwali, when traditionally performed at the Dargah (shrine), becomes a medium for the audience and performer alike for spiritual messages to be transferred, in the Sufi tradition of Mehfil-e-Sama (assembly for listening). Every Qawwal prays to the Saint before the performance, in a way seeking his permission for the performance at the mehfil and in complete surrender to the will of the Saint.
The young Qutubi Brothers are from a family that has performed at the shrine of Hazrat Qutubuddin Bhaktiyar Kaki for generations, and take their name from the saint. The Sufis believe that music and singing the praises of Allah is also a way to reach the Almighty. The songs are usually 15-20 minute long and the Qawwals keep changing the songs as listeners stand quietly, informally, within the premises with their own individual connect to the music, to the Saint, the Pir.
Unbroken Lineages
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.
Dhruv Sangari (Bilal Chisty) is a leading, very popular Qawwal from the new generation of practitioners. Qawwali is learnt as a performance art, honed and perfected after years of practice. The practitioner has to be versatile and understand the spiritual context of the words sung for the desired effect on the listener. All Qawwalis are based on the Raga from the Hindustani classical music tradition. Here we see the intensity of expression as the practitioner is lost in singing ‘hamd’ in the praise of God.
Saqlain Nizami is from the traditional, Amir Khusro’s ‘Qawwal Bachche Gharana’ and often performs at the Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah. He has formed a Qawwali group, with the name “Nizami Khusrau Brothers” and he sings for commercial performances. An unbroken tradition of Qawwal Bachche Gharana, he is one of the four sons of the Ustad Meraj Nizami. An incredible wealth of intangible heritage and tradition is kept alive orally by them. Qawwali Practitioner: Saqlain Nizami
Qawwal Hasnain Nizami is from an unbroken Qawwali tradition since 13th century of the famous “Qawwal Bachche Gharana”. It is said that 700 years agao, Hazrat Amir Khusrau originally trained 12 children in Qawwali, these children are known as Qawwal Bachche and their generations are singing till today, unbroken. The son of the Ustad Meraj Nizami, and as a tradition he sings a hazari (prayer) at the Sufi Shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin at New Delhi.
Brother of Qawwal Hayat Nizami, he came visiting from Pakistan to the Shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin. All Qawwals of the subcontinent owe allegiance to the Sufi saint whose abode is said to have been the place where the form of Qawwali as sung today, is said to have originated. The Dargah compound has both the shrines of Hazrat Nizamuddin and Hazrat Amir Khusrau. Qawwali Practitioner: Shafat Saab
In the Sufi tradition of Mehfil-e-Sama (assembly for listening), Qawwali forms a link to religious ecstasy and to God for the performer and listener alike. Devotees donate money to the Qawwals as part of their obeisance to the Saint. The performers continue singing undisturbed, an age old tradition followed equally by men and women at every shrine.
The Qawwali Project – An Untold Story by Dinesh KhannaSufi Kathak Foundation
Amir Khusrau is credited for creating the form of traditional Qawwali as it is sung even today. In the late 13th century in India he is said to have fused the Persian and Indian musical traditions to create Qawwali. It is said that originally Hazarat Amir Khusro trained 12 children in the performance of Qawwalis and they are known as "Qawwal Bachche" and the subsequent family lineage from them are known as Qawwal Bachchon Ka Gharana (the House of the Children of Qawwal).
Ninety-year-old Ustad Meraj Nizami is part of the Qawwal Bachche Gharana (lineage).
Concept and Text: Manjari Chaturvedi
Image rights: Dinesh Khanna
Contributor: Sufi Kathak Foundation
About the photographer:
Dinesh Khanna is a managing trustee of Nazar Foundation, and one of the co-founders of the Delhi Photo Festival and was also a photography curator for the first two editions of the Serendipity Arts Festival. He is the visual consultant with Sahapedia and advises on the ‘Sahapedia Frames’ Grant for cultural photography. He teaches photography in various institutions, and is a Director of the Dhrish Academy at the Museo Camera: Centre for Photographic Arts. He has published four books of photography — Bazaar (Penguin: 2001), Living Faith (Penguin & Harper Collins: 2004), Right of the Line: The President’s Bodyguard (Rashtrapati Bhawan, 2014), and Life in Rashtrapati Bhawan (Rashtrapati Bhawan, 2015). Visit Dinesh Khanna's website at www.dineshkhanna.com
