I've been holding back on a number of Sufi-related posts, but thought the time has come to feature a short video of a Qawwali performance at the shrine of Nizzam Uddin in Delhi.
The video is by Pierre Monégier; the South Asia Correspondent (based in Delhi) for the French national television France 2. The soundtrack is Allahu by the late legendary and irreplaceable Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Qawwali is the devotional music of the Sufis; primarily those of Pakistan and India. Nusrat Ali Fateh Khan is viewed as one of the greatest singers of qawwali, who extended the 600-year old tradition of his family. He is credited with introducing the music to international audiences, and is popularly known as "Shahenshah-e-Qawwali".
Although it's wonderful to listen to Nusrat's exquisite singing, I'm unsure about using the Allahu soundtrack to accompany the comparatively pedestrian qawwali ensemble seen in the video. I've seen similar performances at the Nizzan Uddin shrine, and they're quite good...nothing compared to Nusrat's virtuosity, but they're authentic.
I would've preferred viewing the video with the real audio, as compared to what it is...but that's me.
I would've preferred viewing the video with the real audio, as compared to what it is...but that's me.
