"Sufi singing, just like being a Sufi, is different"

By Amrita Chaudry - Ludhiana Newsline, Express India - India
Monday, December 18, 2006

Chand Nizami, the younger of the Nizami Bandhus, well known qawwals from Delhi, takes immense pride in the fact that his forefathers came to India along with one of the great Sufis, Nizzamudin Auliya, some 600 years ago.

``Our family has been singing along with this great Sufi and later at his dargah in Delhi, and this traditions continue till date,’’ informs Chand, while pointing towards his nephew, Shahdab Faridi, who is the son of Chand’s elder brother, Gulam Farid Nizami. Shahdab, says he has been singing with his elders since he was 10-year-old.

``Qawwali is one of the oldest traditions of singing and till date, we follow classical form,’’ says Chand, who is however pained at ``how singers are selling everything and anything under the Sufi label.’’ ``See Sufi singing is in Persian and what is happening these days is that people after learning a few couplets of Bulle Shah or any other Sufi think they have become Sufi singers.

Sufi singing, just like being a Sufi, is a completely different genre.The style of rending these Sufi qawwalis is totally different and even the pronounciation of the words.’’

Ask him if Punjabi qawwals sing Sufi kalams with the right pronounciation and Chand becomes defensive. ``Yes at place they have this Punjabi touch in Urdu but then this is quite natural for Urdu is not their mother tongue. Basically singing is a gift of God and when a talented singer sings, it is a sheer magic. See the way Wadali brothers perform. At places their pronounciation may sound different to us but then the kind of magic that Wadali brothers can weave many of us cannot do that.’’

Commenting on films giving a new lease of life to qawwalis, Chand said: ``Yes, films have breathed a new life in this genre of singing which otherwise was limited to Dargahs. There is a change in the form when it comes to filmi qawwalis but then we can not grudge this, for after all qawwalis have become famous only after films took it to masses,’’ added Chand.

Keeping the tradition going Nizami Bandhus were brought to town by a well known Mughlai hotel chain, Moti Mahal [pearl palace]. Talking about the qawwali nite, Monish Gujral, the owner of Moti Mahal Delus, said: ``My grand father had live qawwali performance at his hotels. The first one was opened in 1920 in Pehswar and after partition we came to New Delhi. Nizami Bandhus have been with us since those days when their father used to sing qawwalis at our hotel. But now at times we have space constraint, so we can not put up live performance but then we have our own Moti Mahal trails.

This nite today is to announce the Mughlai food festival will open at hotel from tomorrow and continue till January 7.’’