Nizami Brothers, resident singers at the Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah, have been carrying on a 750-year-old tradition of singing the purest form of qawwali. They talk to Shalini Saksena about how the art form has changed over centuries and why there are only a few takers for this style of singing in modern India
Their singing reverberates in the room sans mic or music, holding you spellbound. Their lyrics touch you to the core. Why not, ask the famous Nizami Brothers — Ghulam Sabir and Ghulam WarisIJ After all, they are singing in God’s praise.
So arresting are these “purest form of Qawwalis” that even novices want to just sit, close their eyes and concentrate on the songs that have left captivated even fellow qawwals. But the brothers feel, things have changed.
“There was a time when the audience loved to hear pure Qawwali. Today, the younger generation doesn’t understand the nuances of this art form. So, there are times when we find no connect with the audience. Then, we have to change our track and sing what people want to hear,” Sabir laments.
Recalling a recent incident in a tier II city, he tells you that it got pretty embarrassing. “A couple of months back, we were performing at an elite club. However, the audience was finding it difficult to understand our language. The organisers told us that while they understood that we were great singers, the audience didn’t. After a quick break, we started singing in Hindi, a language they understood — and got captivated. later, they walked up to us and wanted to know why we had not sung these kind of songs from the start. Times have changed and we, too, have had to change our style according to the audience and the place,” Sabir says.
The adaptation has been simple. The Nizamis are professional qawwals providing for their family. Also, they have to pay the 10 musicians who accompany. If they didn’t change with time, someone else would step into their shoes. There have been many incidents where someone took their place because they didn’t want to compromise on their style, handed down for generations — a legacy that is over 750 years old!
The brothers’ maternal great grandfather was an employee at Bahadur Shah Zafar’s court. A royal singer, he used to teach the monarch and other royalty. “Our grandfather would tell us stories of Rajput kings who would visit the court and love his singing. That was enjoyment then — listening to the message of God or songs in His praise. These kings, in turn, would invite him over Holi, Diwali, Eid and other festivals. These would last for days. Ten-day festivals music festivals used to trend back then. Unlike today, where there is no fun at such festivals,” Waris tells you.
Bahadur Shah was the last Mughal Emperor and a great patron of art and culture, including music. One of his queens gifted the Chandini Mahal to the Nizami family almost 200 years back because she was enamoured of the singing.
This home remained with the family till 1947 when the brothers’ maternal grandfather and uncle decided to leave for Pakistan during Partition. The house was then taken over by someone else. It took the Nizami brothers several decades before they could buy back back the property 35 years ago.
“We are told that this house was once a place of grandeur. Mashaals would be lit at night, there were rooms covered with mirrors and the light that reflected off them, created a magical atmosphere. To keep cool, there were rooms in the basement or the taikhana. In winters, these room would be warm. Over the years all has been lost. Nothing is left of that glorious past. All that we have are the walls and the most important thing — Qawwali in its purest form,” says Sabir.
Qawwali spreads the message of Prophet Muhammad — qawal. People who spread the message were called qawwals. This is the origin of the word. The message was spread in Persian and Arabic. But when this art form came to India, very few people understood what was being said and sung. Then Urdu came and things became easier. Also, there were saints whose teachings found their way into Qawwalis.
This is where sufiana came into existence. “It is a concept in Islam, defined by scholars as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. Some say that it is a philosophy of existence that pre-dates religion, the expression of which flowered within Islamic religion. Sufi music, on the other hand, is the devotional music of sufis, inspired by poets like Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah, Amir Khusrow and Khwaja Ghulam Farid. Sufi music is one of the most well-known forms of Qawwali and is commonly found in the sufi culture of the Indian-subcontinent,” explains Sabir who has learnt from Ustad Wahid Hussain Khan saheb, Mumtaz Hussain saheb and the great musician Haji Ustad Altaf Hussain Khan saheb (Padma Bhushan recipient in 1964) their maternal uncle. Even on the paternal side, the brothers have an illustrious past.
They belong to the legendary Sikandrabad Gharana which gave music giants like Ustad Qudratulla Khan saheb and Ustad Kifayatullah Khan saheb. The Sikandrabad Gharana has greatly contributed to classical music in the sub-continent.
Ustads from these families are famous for their distinctive styles. Mian Ada Rang and Mian Sada Rang achieved a prominent palace in Hindustani classical music as court singers to Mughal emperors in the 18th century and made new creations in tarana, thumri and khayal which are still alive in classical music even after two-and-a-half centuries.
Son of Aziz-uz-Zama Khan saheb, Sabir has made a name for himself not just as a sufi style qawwal but also for astana gayaki as and modern Qawwali. Sabir began singing when he was 12 and has, in the last 50 years, performed all over the world. The best part is when he is performing abroad.
“Foreigners have realised the true essence of music. They may not understand the lyrics, but one can see the pleasure they derive when we are on stage; they close their eyes and you can see that they are in a world of their own where only music matters. It is a great to perform for such audience. Back home, there have been instances where people have walked out on us in the middle of our performance. That is a little unfortunate. A lot of damage has been done by Qawwalis portrayed in movies. There is no hand clapping as there is no jumping around as has been shown in the song Parda hai parda. That is not Qawwali,” Sabir says.
Modern-day music like pop, rock, metal etc, has also changed the scenario. “Take, for example, the song Khwaja mere khwaja. The way you sing it can either make it an entertaining song or a Qawwali. There is a very thin line between a song and Qawwali. As long as you are spreading God’s message, it is Qawwali, everything else that you hear is for pure enjoyment. Even the word ishq is seen in a different light. You love God, love your mother, love your sister, love your children and love your wife. Each has a boundary and limit. The same goes for Qawwali. People have to decide what they want to hear,” says Sabir whose most famous Qawwali is Sone ke kalash wale khawaja tu bada Gharib Nawaz hai.
One is also told that the singing is not restricted to men. Even women are taught. The only difference is that while the men can sing in public and professionally, the women do so behind the pardah.
Waris, the younger brother, says there are many singers today who pass themselves off as qawwals making it extremely difficult for traditional qawwals like them to make their presence felt today.
“I don’t want to take names but there are many singers who are there in Bollywood who have taken a few words from here and there, composed a song and called it Qawwali. The youth who are unaware of the true art form will identify with such songs. This is sad. While the traditional qawwals will never fade away, the younger generation will never know the real beauty of this traditional singing which has survived for hundreds of years,” Waris says.
A fact that is corroborated by Sabir. “Just because there are some people who are making the singing style just for enjoyment’s sake doesn’t mean that Qawwali in its purest form will disappear. As long as people believe in God and His love, the style will survive for as long as there is life on Earth,” he says adding that they are resident singers at Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah whenever they are in the Capital.
Of course, there will be some changes as one has seen taking place — Arabic and Persian being replaced with Urdu and Hindi is probably the biggest change that this style has seen. The fact that there are Qawwalis in films shows how popular the style has become in the recent past.
It is another matter that it may not be the brothers’ concept of what the form should be.
Interestingly, the only reason why the brothers have never featured in a film singing a Qawwali is because they don’t want to sing the so called ‘modern style of Qawwali’. However, they are totally open to singing provided they have a free hand when it comes to the style.
And it is not as if the entertainment industry is new to the brothers. Over the years, they have sung many songs that have been recorded and are sold in CDs and DVDs by music companies like Tips, T-Series, Shree Music, Sonotone, etc. Till date, 30 such cassettes have been recorded. It is another matter that these have disappeared and been replaced by online streaming. Even then, the brothers do manage to record a DVD once every two years.
“Each singing style has a level at which one sings. Classical is sung at level 2, Qawwali is usually sung at level 3-4. But there have been many Qawwalis that we have sung at level 5. This is a very high pitch, almost like that of a woman’s. In fact, Waris is very good at singing at this level. If you were to just hear him sing a this level and not see him, it will be impossible for you to tell whether it is a man or a woman. That is the kind of training that we have been given and we don’t want to compromise on the tradition that has been bestowed on us. At best, we will make less money. That is acceptable. But to settle for something less is not something that we are willing to do. Qawwali is in our blood. It is our heritage, a tradition that has been handed down the centuries. You can’t compromise on this. Also it is a means to earn a living. You don’t cheat with art and that too the one that feeds you,” Sabir states who also taught music at Faridabad College Haryana for more than 12 years.
But then Sabir gave up teaching because he found that there weren’t many takers for this style. And he blames the system for this.
“The last time a qawwal was given a Padma Award was back in 1960s. Does this mean that there are no good qawwals todayIJ That is not true. I am not asking the Government to give the award to me but to an ustad. There are many masters today. But none have got recognition. It is time that people understood that style so that everybody can enjoy it and learn this art form. At present, I teach the children in my family but I would like to take this to others. For this, I need space. There are many academies that are run by the Government. I am sure if they want they can introduce Qawwali as a style of singing just like they teach classical. Sadly, there is no such initiative,” Sabir says.
His message to the people — Pyar kiye jaa, pyar ibaadat hai. Pyar hee puja hai.