the organic brew: london, pakistan, photography, travel, poetry & a general acerbic sentiment. (a carbon neutral blog)
// February 10th, 2010 // No Comments » // Music, Pakistan, Poetry, Qawwali
Guftam Ke Raushan Az Qamar Amir Khusrau Qawwali
I’m sure this wouldnt sound so cool in any other language (i can pickup the general gist of conversation, but my farsi is far from good). In any case, here is a somewhat more unusual qawwali attributed to Amir Khusro
// December 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // Music, Pakistan, Poetry, Qawwali
Rozey ke zarra zarra shawad ustuqhan e man
Bashad hunooz dar dile resham hawaye toAt time when when my bones turned to dust
Your longing still permeated in my heart
I can guess at the words, but i knew more farsi to be able to really get to the bottom of this qawwali. the recording quality is pretty bad, but rendition still comes through glimmering..
// June 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // Poetry, Qawwali
Nami Daanam Chi Manzil from Tasawwuf on Vimeo.
Nami danam chi manzil bood shab jaay ki man boodam;
Baharsu raqs-e bismil bood shab jaay ki man boodam.
Pari paikar nigaar-e sarw qadde laala rukhsare;
Sarapa aafat-e dil bood shab jaay ki man boodam.
Khuda khud meer-e majlis bood andar laamakan Khusrau;
Muhammad shamm-e mehfil bood shab jaay ki man boodam.
I wonder what was the place where I was last night,
All around me were half-slaughtered victims of love,
tossing about in agony.
There was a nymph-like beloved with cypress-like form
and tulip-like face,
Ruthlessly playing havoc with the hearts of the lovers.
Read the rest here: http://www.alif-india.com/love.html
// February 18th, 2007 // 1 Comment » // Poetry, Qawwali
Khushk taar o khushk chob o khushk post
Az koja mi ayad in awaaz e dost
Nai ze taar o nai ze chob o nai ze post
Khud bakhud mi ayad in awaaz e dost
Singing strings, vibrant wood, throbbing drums
Whence comes the voice of the Beloved?
Not from strings, not from wood, nor from drum
Of Himself comes the voice of the Beloved
Thanks to Mufti for finally tracking this down and contributing.
// March 9th, 2006 // 3 Comments » // Qawwali
Album – Day,Night,Dawn,Dusk
Ye Jo Halka Halka Suroor Hai
Duration 18:43 mins
saaqii ki har nigaah pe bal khaa ke pee gayaa
laharoN se khelataa huaa lahraa ke pee gayaa
( I drank in awe of every glance of the cup-bearer
I drank playfully while playing with waves of joy )
ai rahmat-e-tamaam meri har khata muaaf
main intehaa-e-shauq mein ghabraa ke pee gaya
( O all-merciful !! please forgive all my wrong-doings
I drank confounded of the extreme desire )
peetaa beghair izn ye kab thii meri majaal
dar-pardaa chashm-e-yaar kii shah paa ke pee gayaa
( I do not dare to drink without permission
but the patronage of concealed eyes of my beloved made me drink )
zaahid ye merii shokhi-e-rindaana dekhnaa
rahmat ko baaton baaton mein bahlaa ke pee gayaa
( O abstinent !! look at the mischievousness of my drinking
I drank after I befriended forgiveness )
// November 7th, 2005 // 3 Comments » // Photographs, Qawwali
[Source: http://www.sighs.com/oog/cat_pakistan.html#000503]
I say, check out that man in the extreme right corner with his mouth wide open..
// October 19th, 2005 // 1 Comment » // Music, Qawwali
I am surprised to learn that i have never posted anything to the organic brew about one of my all time favourite qawwalis – Khabarum raseed imshaab by Amir Khusrau sung (on many a occasions) by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. One of these recordings (unplaced unfortunately) should certainly rank as Nusrat’s better renditions – the falsetto is amazing and the rythm mesmerising. I’ve since heard many other qawwals try, but none do the poem quite as much justice as Nusrat’s emphatic and soulful qawwali.
Amir Khursrau is particularly poigant – for those who drop by this little outpost, i’ve expounded on the underlying themes oft enough, and this is in a simila vein. I can’t read this without playing back in my mind the emphasis Nusrat places on the last lines – Balabam raseed jaanam fabiya ki zindah maanam strains, over and over, saturated with emotion.. i’m getting carried away, but if i find it hard to describe qawwali in words – then this sublime rendition in raga kedar doubly so.
Speaking of raga kedar, here is a miniature that uses the raga as a central theme:
source: www.dovesong.com
Named after Lord Shiva, the hoary Raga Kedar occupies a pride of place in the Hindustani pantheon and is much loved in the ranks of both the laity and the connoisseur. Its structure reveals a kaleidoscopic panorama of complex melodic gestures, conduct and richness of character. Seldom are the core values of Indian Ragadari music united under one roof as they are in Kedar.
See http://www.sawf.org/newedit/edit05152000/musicarts.asp for more – including an extensive list of examples.
Interestingly, the haughty article above also links to a reocrding of Kedar by Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, in fact, during the qawwali Nusrat brings attention to a a change his father executed in the rendition.
Khabaram raseed imshab ki nigaar khuahi aamad;
Sar-e man fidaa-e raah-e ki sawaar khuahi aamad.
Ham-e aahwan-e sehra sar-e khud nihada bar kaf;
Ba-umeed aanki rozi bashikaar khuahi aamad.
Kashishi ki ishq daarad naguzaradat badinsaa;
Ba-janazah gar nayai ba-mazaar khuahi aamad.
Balabam raseed jaanam fabiya ki zindah maanam;
Pas azan ki man na-maanam bacha kar khuahi aaamad.
(In Persian script)Tonight there came a news that you, oh beloved, would come –
Be my head sacrificed to the road along which you will come riding!
All the gazelles of the desert have put their heads on their hands
In the hope that one day you will come to hunt them….
The attraction of love won’t leave you unmoved;
Should you not come to my funeral,
you’ll definitely come to my grave.
My soul has come on my lips (e.g. I am on the point of expiring);
Come so that I may remain alive –
After I am no longer – for what purpose will you come?(Translation Annmarie Schimmel)
Source: www.alif-india.com
// May 2nd, 2005 // No Comments » // Articles, Qawwali
He whirls slowly but unsteadily at first-like a pirouetting dervish intoxicated with the very rhythm that moves him-in concert with the rising and falling intonations. At once harmonious and cacophonous, the overpowering music builds, as the man moves faster, while the credence seemingly accommodates, impossibly in sync.
The heady mixture of music and sanctity is mesmerising. And as the rhythms reach their crescendo, the rapidly twirling blur now collapses to a heap on the floor, fulfilled in a haze of man, music and mysticism.
From Bhajans to gospel choirs, that music moves the spirit is a notion steeped in the very foundations of the human consciousness.
Though fictionalised, these are events that have unfolded where a soulful, gritty and undiluted ancient mystical musical art is practised-anywhere where Qawwali is still sung from the heart.
With its distinctive chorus, Qawwali is instantly recognizable. But its much less commonly explored. If not an enigma, then the qawwali is still a flavour on the fringes of the mainstream interest.
Here in Pakistan, the last bastion of the authentic Qawwali, we still have much to appreciate and celebrate in an art simultaneously at its evolutionary zenith and its twilight. (more…)
// March 11th, 2005 // 3 Comments » // Qawwali
“Just as in Portugal, where any young female fado singer has to contend with being compared to Amalia Rodrigues, so it is in Pakistan and North India for male exponents of qawwali, a local form of Sufi praise song which induces a trance-like state in the listener. Such singers are inevitably likened to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the undisputed king of qawwali.”
Anyone familiar with Faiz Ali Faiz? This is the first time I’ve come across him.
// March 11th, 2005 // No Comments » // All, Photographs, Qawwali
Jeff Buckley. Qawwali legend (see this post).
Jeff Buckley: A Wished-for Song is an exhibition of photographs printed by Merri Cyr for the singer’s funeral at St Ann’s Church in Brookly, New York in 1997. See the Guardian for more pictures.
// March 1st, 2005 // 2 Comments » // Qawwali
For those who have only heard the jhankar-disco version of the song, the original qawwali is heart-breakingly sublime. What fewer still would be aware of is that the original poetry is by our much admired and revered Bulleh Shah.
I quote the poetry from http://www.geocities.com/karachiiterulez/piyaghar.html (which you should check out if you are interested in their large selection of qawwali translations and transliterations.)
Translation after the jump.
Aoo Ni Sayyo Ral Deyo Ni Wadhai
Men War Paaya Sona MaahiGharyaal Deyo Nikalni, Mera Piya Ghar Aaya
Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar AayaPiya Ghar Aaya, Sanu Allah Milaya
Hun Hoya Fazl Kamaalni Mera Piya Ghar AayaAaaa… (Sufi Chanting)
Hun Hoya Fazl Kamaalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya
Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar AayaAjj Taan Roz Mubaarak Chaddeya Mahi Mere Vedde Vaddeya
Aaaa… (Sufi Chanting)
Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya
Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar AayaShakar Wanda Peer Manawa Mera Mahi Mere Vaddeya Kure
Aaa… (Sufi Chanting)
Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya
Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar AayaGhari Ghari Ghariyal Bajaave, Raen Wasl Di Piya Ghataawe
Mere Munn Di Baat Na Paave, Hathon Ja Sutto Ghariyal Ni
Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Laalni, Mera Piya Ghar Laalni Hoo
Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Laalni, Mera Piya Ghar Laalni HooAnhad Vaaja Vaje Suhaana, Mutarib Sughara Taan Taraana
Bhull Gaya Ay Namaaz Dogaana, Madh Piyaala Dain Kalaal Ni
Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya
Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar AayaBulla Shah Di Sej Piyaari, Ni Men Taaran Haarey Taari
Allah Milaya Hun Aayi Vaari, Hun Vicharan Hoya Nuhaal Ni
Mera Piya Ghar Aaya, Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya
Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar Aayang
// February 13th, 2005 // 2 Comments » // All, Poetry, Qawwali
ye daulat bhi le lo, ye shohrat bhi le lo
chahe mujh se le lo wo meri jawaai
magar mujh ko lauta do bachpan ka saawan
wo kaghaz ki kashti, wo baarish ka paani
[an excerpt from one of jagjit singh's most popular songs, not sure who the writer is]
it’s very “nice” in a tearful sort of way, but what’s all this nostalgia about anyway? sometimes i think we’re a nostalgia-obsessed, backward looking (as opposed to backward) people…
now this (mohammad iqbal courtesy of nusrat fateh ali khan) is more like it:
dhayaar e ishq mein apna maqaam peida kar
naya zamaana, naye subh o shaam peida kar
bit off-topic, but i particularly like the next couplet:
khuda agar dil e fitrat shanaas de tujh ko
saqoot e laala o gul se kalaam peida kar
i think this really encapsulates what great photography is all about. JNS, what do you say we make this the tagline for our soon-to-come all-new (and record-breakingly-hyphenated) cool desi photography site?
// December 14th, 2004 // 2 Comments » // Poetry, Qawwali
Ghar nari ganwaarii chaahe so kahe
Main Nijam se naina milaa, aaii reKhusrao rain suhag kii sojagi pii ke sang
Tan mora, man piihuu kaa, so domo ek hii rangSohanii suurat mohanii muurat hirday biich samaa, aaii re
Khusrao Nijam ke bal bal jaaie anmol cheri bita, aaii re
Let the housewife say what she will,
I stole a glance from the eyes of Nizam.
Khusrao! It is the blissful wedding night; I awake with my love.
The body mine, the heart my lover’s, and both coloured in the same hue.
His darling face and his charming form I have hidden in the depths of my heart.
Let Khusrao perish at the feet of Nizam, I have just sold him a priceless maid (Khusrao himself)
Original transliteration and translation by: Editied by JNS
// December 5th, 2004 // 3 Comments » // Poetry, Qawwali
Mo se bol na bol, meri sun ya na sun
Mein to tohe naa chhoruungii ai sanvare (more…)
// November 22nd, 2004 // 5 Comments » // Music, Poetry, Qawwali
Punjabi in the urdu/arabic script (more…)
