Remembering Nusrat Fateh
Ali Khan
By Ras H. Siddiqui
The author with the late
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan |
August 14th is just around the
corner. The approach of Pakistan’s Independence Day
rekindles many pleasant memories for our community worldwide,
especially here in Northern California where it is usually
a very busy month for our journalists. But before that task
approaches, a desire to contribute some personal writing remains
strong even though a tinge of sadness is associated with this
particular topic. The tragedy is that that this writer is
always reminded of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Sahib during this
time of the year for two main reasons.
First, his death anniversary on August 16 is also just around
the corner, which makes it eight years now since he left this
world at the young age of 49. And second, it was always a
wish of some of us in this area to have him perform just once
at the Pakistan Association of San Francisco’s annual
Independence Day event, the second largest annual gathering
of Pakistanis in this part of the world (it appears that Los
Angeles has finally surpassed us). But like a meteor he spread
the light of the qawwali throughout the world, and like a
meteor he left, soon after we had begun to experience and
appreciate a vocalist-genius, his death a tragedy of immense
proportions for the Pakistani arts.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (NFAK) had just made his debut in the
Western music world and slowly but surely he had begun to
scale the heights of stardom here in America and Europe. Peter
Gabriel, Joan Osborne and Eddy Vedder were some of the people
that he cooperated with or became his fans. His voice had
a unique magical quality and most of all it had range. As
one notable described it best, his was “a voice from
the heavens.”
The soundtrack of the movie “Dead Man Walking”
still resonates in vague memory today like some other tidbits
that can be shared.
A promoter of Pakistani music shows once said to this writer
that there are really only two Pakistani singers whose shows
could never lose money. The two were Madam Noor Jahan and
Nusrat Sahib. Such was his following that it boggled the mind.
There was a time when Pakistan Link and another newspaper
would carry advertisements for Pakistani music shows to be
held in Northern California, where the promoter would put
my contact number along with a long list of several others
for ticket information and purchases. And most of the time
it would be us calling prominent members of our community
and pleading with them to buy tickets to these shows. But
with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Sahib it was a different ball game.
People used to call us instead for the privilege to see him
and sometimes we had to turn them away. I can distinctly recall
one occasion when, for a show in Berkeley, California I received
a call from a young lady from Saint Louis, Missouri, who wanted
to travel almost 2000 miles to see NFAK’s live performance.
Never before had we Pakistanis in the U.S. experienced such
a phenomenon.
We have heard the term “Fire in Ice” and its relationship
to singing before. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was that voice of
fire that not only melted some icy hearts amongst the Pakistani
diaspora but made many inroads into the musical and cultural
corridors of the west. At one show I saw quite a few locals,
American-born and bred, in various states of “Haal”
(trance?) during Khan Sahib’s performance. Again the
word that comes to mind here is “magic.”
Qawwali has its origins in the devotional expression of the
Sufis. In the Western world it can be associated with Gospel
singing but not without an inclusion of some Soul and The
Blues. A musical pathway to spirituality, singing in Urdu
and Punjabi, in praise of Allah (SWT) and his Prophet (SWW)
is at the core of Qawwali.
In their own way, the singers of this art called Qawwals have
developed quite a loyal following. And amongst them the king
or master practitioner of this art to date, Nusrat Fateh Ali
Khan, stands out. From his humble origins in Faisalabad in
Pakistan, born into a family of vocalists and musicians in
1948, he learnt their art, excelled in it, and last but not
least he shared it wonderfully with a worldwide audience.
His death in 1997 ended a remarkable career.
Pakistanis who were fortunate enough to see and hear him perform
cannot forget him.
His signature opening presentation “Allah Hoo”
still resonates in our minds. And in closing let us use another
one of his hits, this time a Punjabi song here, to assist
in describing his memory. “Kina Sohna Tenu Rab Ne Banaya,”
(How beautiful God made you) certainly comes to mind when
we remember Nusrat, the most magical Pakistani singer of all
times.
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