Wah Wah Ustad Jee

 

(38) Wah Wah Ustad Jee

August '97

by Fazeel Azeez Chauhan

The great master's soul became free from his body a few days ago. We mourn this great loss to humanity. And we send Khan, all our love for giving us so much wealth in the forty nine years he was around us.

I sit and ponder.....listening to one of my favorite Qawalis:

Iss Karam Ka Karun Shukar Kaisay Ada

Jo Karam Mujh Pay Mayray Nabi Kar Diya

I can't help but cry for him, as if he was a dear friend. Because he did give us a lot. He was a guide, a teacher and a light. He lives in a special place in our hearts because he was also a member of our Muslim family. Our brother brought immense honor to our family.

How can I measure and state all the Faiz (benefits) that we received from Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Do you remember where you were when you heard the news? I didn't believe that he had passed when I saw it on tv last Saturday. I was in shock and denial. Even though I had known for about a year that he was very sick, I didn't want him to go behind the veil so soon. Is that selfish and greedy on my part? No, I think I just love him a lot and wanted him to stick around for a long time.

Since last August, he spent several months here in the Los Angeles area. He used to come to UCLA for treatment and was said to be residing in Santa Monica. And during the last year, I saw him at a few shows. Sometimes I saw him performing and at other times, he was an honorable guest at other artists' shows. I always wanted to meet him but didn't get the opportunity until two months ago.

I was visiting Pakistan and staying in "Data Ki Nagri" Lahore. It was a great honor to visit the shrine of the great saint Data Ali Hajweri:

Na-kasaan Da Peer Kamil

Kamilaan Ra Rahnuma

On the occasion of Data Sahab's Urs, dozens of Qawals paid homage to the great sufi master. As they say, when Aulia-Allah (Enlightened people) become free of their bodies, we should not say that they are dead. Once free from the constraints of a body, the holy souls become even more powerful:

Jin Ki Mehfil Saji Ho

Woh Zaroor Aatay hain

When Khan Sahab concluded the Mehfil-e-Sama at this occasion, I didn't know that two months later, he'd be hanging out with Data Sahab even more. I invited him back to Los Angeles and requested him to sing for a much longer time than his previous show. He just nodded his head saying okay. Okay Khan Sahab, I'm just honored that I got a chance to see you and finally speak to you. You have been speaking to me for so many years through your music. I am truly grateful for what you have given to humanity. We who discovered your music are very lucky. We who speak your language are even more thankful.

You speak of love, passion and humanity. With your message, you were able to change the negative stereotypes that some people have about Islam. At your concerts, you graced us with your mere presence. You made all the people dance with joy, stirring them up with those powerful taals of the tabla . You awakened our souls with the deep vibrations of your melodies. You brought honor, respect and courage to the Muslim people of the world. You reached the top of the world with the Pakistani passport in your pocket and Allah-Hu in your breath and Islam synchronized within your heartbeat. You were truly a Nusrat and Fateh (Victory). And there is no doubt about that.

Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, through your words and music, you teach us to feel alive. You teach us to look, to hear, to discover, to learn, to love, to wonder, to be thankful, to love our pain, to get in touch with the Creator, to enjoy life, to have fun, to honor the thousands of Prophets and Aulia-Allah, to keep Islam in our hearts, to act, to treat other people with love and kindness, and to live as good human beings. Thankyou Ustad Jee for giving us all of this and lots more. We are very grateful to you. We will strive to live up to your example. You are always alive in our hearts. And we promise to keep hearing what you have to say to us so that we can reach higher. I will always love you Ustad Jee!

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in Los Angeles, 1996

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan '96

by Fazeel Aziz Chauhan

(Published in Pakistan Link ~ September '96)

In August, I had the honor of seeing Khan in concert twice.The man is responsible for making Qawali music popular around the world. He has truly had a profound influence on my life. I traveled to Berkeley with my father and noticed the majority of the audience was Caucasian. Knowing that being a Muslim is considered a crime in America, I was very happy and proud to see that they had come to appreciate a Pakistani Muslim. I realized that it was an extremely rare occasion where the man being admired by Americans was mine, the music was mine and the heritage he represented was mine. That makes us feel proud. Outside that auditorium, there isn't a large place we can call our own. The overt and covert pressures of society can force a person to not be himself. But at Khan's shows we felt free to walk, dress, talk and act in our own true and natural way.

In Los Angeles, the tension in the air may have been due to the open racism here. But Pakistani youth danced in ecstacy, free and proud. Some demonstrated their power and rebellion by taking off their shirts. We usually hear nothing good about Muslims from the dominant society. Khan has broken through those barriers, forcing the listeners to take a second look at Muslims. His music is on the soundtracks of Last Temptation of Christ, Bandit Queen, Natural Born Killers and Dead Man Walking. He has albums with Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, and Michael Brooks.
Khan sings many Qawalis about Allah and Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). In addition, he sings about the lives of many Saints who can serve as real heroes. For example, one of the many Qawalis praising Hazrat Ali talks about his courage stating:
Ali was victorious in all battlefields
Khayber still trembles upon hearing his name
When I sit in my car and plug in one of Khan's tapes, it takes me to another world. There, I get wisdom, courage, and joy. And I am ready to face whatever comes my way.
Professor Tayyab says "It is not that WE are trying to be like THEM. The truth is, THEY are trying to be like US". They steal ideas from the East, re-package them and label them as "Western". Why is it "cool" for Sting and Robert Plant to wear our Kurta or Sherwani, but when we wear our own clothes, it's frowned upon as if it's unacceptable like a crime?

Khan Rocks the Pyramid

Khan Rocks the Pyramid

by Fazeel Aziz Chauhan

(Published in Pakistan Link 9-19-95)

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan should be in the next Memorex commercial. In one of their old TV ads, a woman is shown singing in a high pitch and she causes a glass to break with her powerful voice. But in the new commercial, Khan saheb should be shown causing an avalanche on K-2.

After watching Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's concert in L.A. on Saturday, I wonder if there is a better male vocalist in the world. Is there another example like the great Khan, whose family's musical legacy is hundreds of years old? He took the stage of the Pyramid Arena at Cal State Long Beach in front of a restless audience. They had been anxiously waiting for this concert since the date was announced about three months ago.

Several people bought their tickets in advance from TicketMaster and experienced very long delays at the Will Call window. Some were angry but strangely, this anger was only surface level and very temporary. There was a special feeling in the air. Under similar circumstances, at any other concert, tempers would have been flaring and cursing and fighting would have occurred. But these people who had come to hear Khan were different. They were quiet and mellow. They complained mostly because they were anxious to get inside and dive into the magical ambience Khan had created under the Pyramid. Inside and out, there was a general warm feeling of peace and joy.

According to Khan, Qawali started about eight hundred years ago in the area which is now Afghanistan. A Qawal is a man singing a Qawl. A Qawl is a saying. I suppose it's literally similar to the word Rap. The great difference is that in Rap music, someone is usually making a social or political statement and usually the feeling is harsh. On the other hand, Qawals go to the furthest depths of the soul and sing about Islamic spirituality, creating a state of delicious ecstasy.

The lyrics being sung are usually hundreds of years old and were written by various spiritual leaders. Many of these pious men were Sufi and are also referred to as "Pir" and "Faqeer". They are great men who make incredible sacrifices to reach enlightenment through meditation, Zikr and other means. The spiritual poets often write about their intoxication in the love for Allah and his Prophet Mohammed. The powerful words were obtained as precious gifts after paying the great price of annihilating the self. These spiritual leaders distributed these gifts among their followers. When Qawals sing these words, the music literally transforms the audience into a trance. Since its inception, this enlightening music has helped expose people to the message of Islam.

Some Muslims feel strongly against the involvement of Islam with music, dance and Sufism. However, one might say that the Azan, recitations of Quran and Naat are also forms of music. The Whirling Dervishes of Turkey use dance as a tool in their quest for enlightenment. Chanting and Zikr have a rhythmic element and are also used as tools to meditate, concentrate, contemplate and to detach from the self. Any tool can be misused so we should not throw away the baby with the bath-water. Indeed Allama Iqbal practiced Sufism too.

It was very moving to see thousands of people gathered under the Pyramid to hear the message to their soul. There is a theory among the practitioners of Transcendental Meditation that if 1 percent of the people of a city gather together and meditate for an hour, they can cause a positive change in the entire population of the city. There was something definitely magical that happened at the Pyramid on Saturday and many of us could not put the feelings into words.

The thirsty ears and hungry eyes awaited the great Khan for hours. When he arrived, a crowd of reporters swarmed him on the way backstage. He took the stage with eight of his "Humnawa". They included four background singers, three other alternating singers, two harmonium player and Dildar Hussain with his heart pounding tabla beats.

The musicians sat down on the ground in the form of a crescent, facing the audience, and Khan began with the famous "Allahu". The crowd immediately responded with loud approvals of joy. Allahu is a common mantra used in the practice of Zikr. Thus five thousand people began a collective meditation of 75 minutes. The audience clapped along with the musicians and responded to the entrancing verses with roars of pleasure.

Lots of people shouted their requests during the brief pauses. Khan responded with the next Qawali "Iss Karam Ka Karun Shukr Kaisay Ada". It means: How do I give thanks for this blessing? The next Qawali lit the Pyramid on fire. "Ali Da Malang" caused people to get up and start dancing. Lights were turned on so that everybody could see this great moment of celebration. People started showering Khan with money when he sang "Mera Piya Ghar Aya". There were scores of non-Desi people in the audience and they could not understand why people were throwing money at Khan. But we all understood something that was much more deeper. This was one of the rarest occasions in life when people of all colors, religions, cultures, countries, classes and races were brought together in a peaceful celebration of the human spirit. The vibes of truth were in the air.

"Mast Nazron Say Allah Bacha-ay" caused more people to dance. In Pakistan, people are freely allowed to dance to Qawali and it can put them in a state of trance or "Mast". Unfortunately, people dancing near the stage were told to stop by two large wrestlers. Khan continued with some moving verses that caused the crowd to go wild. Soon it was intermission and people rushed to grab the Desi food. There were a lot of smiles under the pyramid. The concert had brought many young people. For example, there were a lot of Desi young women who appeared very westernized. They are usually not seen at Desi shows because they probably relate more to western music. They were the proof that Khan can bring together all kinds of people. Especially those of us who migrated here at a young age or were born here and have trouble formulating our identities. Khan provides a deeper meaning, especially for those who experience conflicts of belongingness.

Another 75 minute long meditation started after the intermission. Khan sang two short versions of "Sanson Ki Mala Pay Simroon May Pi Ka Naam" and "Mitr Pyaray Noo Haal Mureedan Da Kehna". The latter is a very beautiful piece about followers or "Mureeds" of a spiritual teacher or "Pir". Khan sang powerful sequences of scale tones, waving his hands and arms in circular motions, pointing up, going back and forth, from very low to very high pitches, arriving at a big crescendo that caused loud responses from the listeners. The listeners appeared more like seekers and Khan handed out cup-fulls of intoxicating melodies and enlightening lyrics for their souls.

Some people shouted to request "Gorakh Dhanda" and Khan's keen ear again somehow picked it up out of the joyful noise. When he sang "Jhoolay Jhoolay Laal Dam Must Qalandar", several people went out of control. Many of them danced in their seats and in the aisles. The dancing continued for the rest of the evening. Khan spoke only two sentences during the whole show. And then came time to say goodbye. People gave a long standing ovation and expressed how happy they were. What great gifts Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan gave to the people that night! He gave them love, peace and joy. And most importantly, he fed their spiritually starving souls. There is no bigger service to mankind than that