Around two years ago I started a "Rather Ambitious Project". I had recently arrived in the jungle and had eons of time at my hands. After acquainting myself with the local flora and fauna -comprising mainly of snakes and giant insects - I had to find something useful to do. After spending a month or so transcribing some of Haji Mahboob Sb's recordings and digitizing some of my cassettes, I was looking for something else to occupy my time. I had brought along a Farsi primer to learn the rudiments of that language, mainly to help me understand the kalam I was transcribing, but that required just an hour or two of my time per day. My FCPS Part 1 exam was a year and a half away, so my course books were still technically out-of-bounds for me. All I did was lie in my room in the middle of the jungle and enjoy the lack of electricity, running water and human contact with my aforementioned friends - the snakes and giant insects.
Finally I decided I'd try my hand at organizing my music library. I had a fairly large number of recordings of various kinds in my harddrive and I used iTunes as my primary music player. iTunes has a very pedantic attitude towards organizing your library, and if it's not done just right, it can take you hour to search through it. So I decided to knuckle down and try to sort out the jumbled mess of music in my harddrive. I had seen my friends over at "Qawwali Central" use a simple yet effective way of organizing their Qawwali recordings. Under the 'Genre' tab, they used to place the name of the poet. So all of Maulana Jami's kalams were under the genre of "Jami" and so forth. This was useful when you needed to identify the poet of a kalam, as well as for when you were in the mood to listen to, say nothing but Khusrau (RA) for example. The artists, albums and tracks would remain true to those listed on the recordings, while the genres would divide them neatly among the various poets. This seemed like a great idea, so that's how I started organizing my music too.
Once I had done so -and it took me quite a few days due to the lack of electricity mentioned above, I began to pay more attention to some aspects of the recordings that I hadn't noticed before. For example, how each artist; based on his background, training and influences etc, interpreted the same kalaam in a way entirely different from another artist. Some performers brought out the spiritual meanings of the kalams, while others embellished them in musical adornment, while still others flew off at new tangents altogether. Very soon, I had my definitive versions of each kalam, and those I listened to repeatedly.
A while before leaving for the jungle, I had put up a couple of posts highlighting the different versions of the same kalaam by different artists , highlighting what I've mentioned above. While organizing my music, I thought of another approach. I would share my favorite versions of kalams by one poet only, showing how their various kalams were performed by different artists. And to avoid giving preference to one artist over the other, or one kalam over another, I would include only one version of the kalam and only one recording by an artist per post. Otherwise the recordings would number into the dozens and my poor file-hosting server would crash.
So, with that in mind, I set out to select recordings, which was easier said than done. To include Munshi Raziuddin's version of the Qaul or Bahauddin Khan Sb's, to include the more popularly known version of a kalam or to include an unheard track by an obscure performer and so forth. Still, after a couple of weeks of picking and cutting, I had a sizeable stash of 45 odd recordings that I was ready to share. the next step was writing about the recordings and preparing the posts themselves. In those days, I had the habit of writing down most of the post before hand, on paper or as MS word documents, so I could just paste the text and upload the recordings, saving me time on my once-a-month weekends. I have a habit - which I'll have to get rid of someday - of writing in a very florid and overlong style, a result of worshiping Wodehouse I suppose, and it took me quite a while to get all the write-ups done. But a couple of days before I was about to come home on a weekend, the write-ups were finished too. Now all I had to do was come home and post the stuff.
That's when the jungle decided to play a trick on me. Lightning struck - quite literally- and fried my laptop. Thank heavens my harddrive wasn't attached to it at that time, for I hadn't backed up my data then. But my laptop, with all the write-ups and recordings, and tons of other important data, was kaput. Thankfully it was still in warranty and the vendors were able to replace it, but I had lost my enthusiasm along with my data and decided to put the project on an indefinite hiatus.
Several times during the last two years, I thought of restarting work on the project, but laziness and a recollection of the enormity of the task always dissuaded me. In these two years, I managed to brush up my Farsi slightly, pass my FCPS Part 1 exam, get engaged and alleviate my electricity/running water/communications problem - still no luck with the snakes and giant insects, and managed to reclaim some of the absolute idleness that I enjoyed at my arrival in the jungle. So, a month or so ago, I started earnestly working towards revvitalizing this long dead project. Collected the recordings again and made backups. Thankfully this time there have been no mess-ups -so far, touchwood - and I think I'm finally ready to get back to what I started more than two years ago.
This time, I have more recordings to choose from, and I find that I have inadvertently posted two installments of the project already, so this makes it the third post.
1. Khwaja Ghulam Fareed (RA)
2. Allama Muhammad Iqbal (RA)
And now, the third post on Hz Bedam Shah Warsi (RA).
Hz Bedam Shah Warsi (RA) was born in 1882 in Atawa, a town in present day UP, India. He was named Ghulam Hasnain by his parents, but this name was forgotten once he took on the mantle of mysticism. His spiritual murshid was Hz Syed Waris Ali Shah (RA), and Bedam Sb, under the influence of his murshid, became an adept sufi. Spending most of his life in the garb of a 'Faqeer', Bedam Sb passed away in November 1936. He is buried near the shrine of his murshid. Not many biographical details are available on Bedam Sb, but what is known is that he was a contemporary of most of the great Sufis of the turn of the century, including Pir Mehr Ali Shah (RA), Khwaja Ghulam Fareed (RA) Hz Hasan Nizami (RA) - who said about Bedam Sb's 'Diwan', Hast Irfan dar zabaan-e-Poorbi, and poets like Hz Allama Iqbal (RA).
Bedam Sb's kalam is a wonderful mix of modern Urdu idiom and the Farsi/Purbi traditions that shaped the Sufi poetry that preceded him. His Purbi kalams led him to be given the title of 'Khusrau-e-Saani' - the Second Khusrau. His Naatiya kalaams are in a league of their own, wonderfully expressing the love for the Prophet (SAW) while at the same time retaining the fragrances of his native land, emanating - as he himself says - a "Bheeni bheeni khushboo". His non- Naatiya kalaams contain treasures of meaning, and all the main Sufi concepts are wonderfully visible- Wahdat-ul-Wujood, the concepts of 'Fanaa' and 'Baqaa', of love towards the Murshid and all creations of Allah.
Bedam Sb's kalaam has been sung by Naat-khwaans and Qawwals since his lifetime. His ghazals were readily picked up by contemporary Qawwals, and Tazmeens were sung on them. Even today, almost eighty years after his demise, Bedam Sb's kalam retains the same freshness, the same depth of ideas and emotions and the same "bheeni bheeni khushboo" that it did when it was created. What follows is a group of Qawwali recordings of Bedam Sb's kalam, spanning almost seventy years from the '30s to the present day. The performance styles are different, but Bedam Sb's distinct style shines through nonetheless.
1. Begaangiye Dil Ke Afsaane - Kallan Qawwal Meerthi
I have very few recordings of Kallan Qawwal Meerthi - I have slightly more of his namesake Kallan Qawwal Sikandarabadi, but still they're few in number, but those few recordings have turned me into a fan. He used Sitar, Bulbultarang and in one case, a wonderful slide guitar lick that would've made any Bluesman proud, in his recordings, and managed to squeeze a large number of girahs, verses and takraars into the three-odd minutes that could fit onto a 78 RPM record. Here however, he sings the kalam with a simple harmonium and swirling clarinet accompaniment, supported by his hamnavaas. This recording is from the late thirties, so might be considered contemporary with Bedam Sb's life.
2. Adam Se Layi Hai Hasti Main - Jafar Hussayn Khan Badayuni QawwalFinally I decided I'd try my hand at organizing my music library. I had a fairly large number of recordings of various kinds in my harddrive and I used iTunes as my primary music player. iTunes has a very pedantic attitude towards organizing your library, and if it's not done just right, it can take you hour to search through it. So I decided to knuckle down and try to sort out the jumbled mess of music in my harddrive. I had seen my friends over at "Qawwali Central" use a simple yet effective way of organizing their Qawwali recordings. Under the 'Genre' tab, they used to place the name of the poet. So all of Maulana Jami's kalams were under the genre of "Jami" and so forth. This was useful when you needed to identify the poet of a kalam, as well as for when you were in the mood to listen to, say nothing but Khusrau (RA) for example. The artists, albums and tracks would remain true to those listed on the recordings, while the genres would divide them neatly among the various poets. This seemed like a great idea, so that's how I started organizing my music too.
Once I had done so -and it took me quite a few days due to the lack of electricity mentioned above, I began to pay more attention to some aspects of the recordings that I hadn't noticed before. For example, how each artist; based on his background, training and influences etc, interpreted the same kalaam in a way entirely different from another artist. Some performers brought out the spiritual meanings of the kalams, while others embellished them in musical adornment, while still others flew off at new tangents altogether. Very soon, I had my definitive versions of each kalam, and those I listened to repeatedly.
A while before leaving for the jungle, I had put up a couple of posts highlighting the different versions of the same kalaam by different artists , highlighting what I've mentioned above. While organizing my music, I thought of another approach. I would share my favorite versions of kalams by one poet only, showing how their various kalams were performed by different artists. And to avoid giving preference to one artist over the other, or one kalam over another, I would include only one version of the kalam and only one recording by an artist per post. Otherwise the recordings would number into the dozens and my poor file-hosting server would crash.
So, with that in mind, I set out to select recordings, which was easier said than done. To include Munshi Raziuddin's version of the Qaul or Bahauddin Khan Sb's, to include the more popularly known version of a kalam or to include an unheard track by an obscure performer and so forth. Still, after a couple of weeks of picking and cutting, I had a sizeable stash of 45 odd recordings that I was ready to share. the next step was writing about the recordings and preparing the posts themselves. In those days, I had the habit of writing down most of the post before hand, on paper or as MS word documents, so I could just paste the text and upload the recordings, saving me time on my once-a-month weekends. I have a habit - which I'll have to get rid of someday - of writing in a very florid and overlong style, a result of worshiping Wodehouse I suppose, and it took me quite a while to get all the write-ups done. But a couple of days before I was about to come home on a weekend, the write-ups were finished too. Now all I had to do was come home and post the stuff.
That's when the jungle decided to play a trick on me. Lightning struck - quite literally- and fried my laptop. Thank heavens my harddrive wasn't attached to it at that time, for I hadn't backed up my data then. But my laptop, with all the write-ups and recordings, and tons of other important data, was kaput. Thankfully it was still in warranty and the vendors were able to replace it, but I had lost my enthusiasm along with my data and decided to put the project on an indefinite hiatus.
Several times during the last two years, I thought of restarting work on the project, but laziness and a recollection of the enormity of the task always dissuaded me. In these two years, I managed to brush up my Farsi slightly, pass my FCPS Part 1 exam, get engaged and alleviate my electricity/running water/communications problem - still no luck with the snakes and giant insects, and managed to reclaim some of the absolute idleness that I enjoyed at my arrival in the jungle. So, a month or so ago, I started earnestly working towards revvitalizing this long dead project. Collected the recordings again and made backups. Thankfully this time there have been no mess-ups -so far, touchwood - and I think I'm finally ready to get back to what I started more than two years ago.
This time, I have more recordings to choose from, and I find that I have inadvertently posted two installments of the project already, so this makes it the third post.
1. Khwaja Ghulam Fareed (RA)
2. Allama Muhammad Iqbal (RA)
And now, the third post on Hz Bedam Shah Warsi (RA).
Hz Bedam Shah Warsi (RA) was born in 1882 in Atawa, a town in present day UP, India. He was named Ghulam Hasnain by his parents, but this name was forgotten once he took on the mantle of mysticism. His spiritual murshid was Hz Syed Waris Ali Shah (RA), and Bedam Sb, under the influence of his murshid, became an adept sufi. Spending most of his life in the garb of a 'Faqeer', Bedam Sb passed away in November 1936. He is buried near the shrine of his murshid. Not many biographical details are available on Bedam Sb, but what is known is that he was a contemporary of most of the great Sufis of the turn of the century, including Pir Mehr Ali Shah (RA), Khwaja Ghulam Fareed (RA) Hz Hasan Nizami (RA) - who said about Bedam Sb's 'Diwan', Hast Irfan dar zabaan-e-Poorbi, and poets like Hz Allama Iqbal (RA).Bedam Sb's kalam is a wonderful mix of modern Urdu idiom and the Farsi/Purbi traditions that shaped the Sufi poetry that preceded him. His Purbi kalams led him to be given the title of 'Khusrau-e-Saani' - the Second Khusrau. His Naatiya kalaams are in a league of their own, wonderfully expressing the love for the Prophet (SAW) while at the same time retaining the fragrances of his native land, emanating - as he himself says - a "Bheeni bheeni khushboo". His non- Naatiya kalaams contain treasures of meaning, and all the main Sufi concepts are wonderfully visible- Wahdat-ul-Wujood, the concepts of 'Fanaa' and 'Baqaa', of love towards the Murshid and all creations of Allah.
Bedam Sb's kalaam has been sung by Naat-khwaans and Qawwals since his lifetime. His ghazals were readily picked up by contemporary Qawwals, and Tazmeens were sung on them. Even today, almost eighty years after his demise, Bedam Sb's kalam retains the same freshness, the same depth of ideas and emotions and the same "bheeni bheeni khushboo" that it did when it was created. What follows is a group of Qawwali recordings of Bedam Sb's kalam, spanning almost seventy years from the '30s to the present day. The performance styles are different, but Bedam Sb's distinct style shines through nonetheless.
1. Begaangiye Dil Ke Afsaane - Kallan Qawwal Meerthi
I have very few recordings of Kallan Qawwal Meerthi - I have slightly more of his namesake Kallan Qawwal Sikandarabadi, but still they're few in number, but those few recordings have turned me into a fan. He used Sitar, Bulbultarang and in one case, a wonderful slide guitar lick that would've made any Bluesman proud, in his recordings, and managed to squeeze a large number of girahs, verses and takraars into the three-odd minutes that could fit onto a 78 RPM record. Here however, he sings the kalam with a simple harmonium and swirling clarinet accompaniment, supported by his hamnavaas. This recording is from the late thirties, so might be considered contemporary with Bedam Sb's life.
Jafar Hussayn Khan Sb is one of my favorite performers. Distinct from all other Qawwals I've heard, he always conveys a wonderful sense of 'thehraao' or calmness, along with a wonderful mellowness that seems to have been a part of his personality as well. He sings each word with such wonderful affection and ihteraam that the kalaam comes alive. His classical prowess shines through in his lay-kaari, his alaaps and his bol-baant. In this recording he is accompanied by his nephew and Shagird, Wajahat Hussayn Khan Badayuni and they sing together brilliantly. In a sawaal-jawaab style reminiscent of Nusrat when he took a very young Rahat under his wing, the two vocalists share alaaps and compliment each other wonderfully. Jafar Hussayn Sb spends ample time on each verse, constructing brief takraars and embellishments before moving onto the next verse. It is a performance that exudes love for the Prophet (SAW), wonderfully suited to the kalam.
It was kalaams like these that earned Bedam Sb the title of 'Khusrave Saani'. Steeped in pure Poorbi, reminiscent of Khusrau's paeans to Hz Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya (RA), this kalam is sung very regularly at dargaahs to this day. I must confess that I don't know much about Zaki Taji Qawwal and his party apart from a few fragments of information. As is obvious from his name, he was a devotee of Hz Baba Tajuddin (RA) and was a frequent performer at mehfils in Karachi in the '60s and '70s (according to a friend). There's only one album of his circulating on the internet, an EMI release, and it's a slickly produced, instrumentally rich affair. With a crisp voice that reminds me at places of abu Muhammad Qawwal's, Zaki Taji sings the kalam with wonderful economy and marvelous "ghinaa'iat". As he almost lovingly utters the names of the Sufi saints, the shehnai and sitar offer sparse yet effective punctuation. I don't know if one can hear the phrase 'Pir Nijamuddin chatar khilaadi' without a hint of a smile, I know I can't. A sudden shift in tempo mid-way through the kalam lends a nice sense of urgency to the second half of the kalam.
Agha Rasheed Fareedi is one of my most favorite Qawwals, one of the absolutely most favorite ones. This was the first recording that I heard of his, and it sent me into such a wonderful state of mental and spiritual 'hejaan' that I still can't hear it without getting goosebumpy all over. The arrangement is unusual, and I don't know what Raag it is based on, but whichever one it is, it is arresting, urgent and induces a wonderful sense of loss and nostalgia, or maybe that's just how I hear it. Starting slow, it picks up pace wonderfully, ending at the breakneck pace that most of Fareedi Sb's performances ended in. I've always thought of Fareedi Sb's performances as Express trains. They start slow, as you grab on to a railing and climb aboard. The scenery passing by is interesting, but the thrill of the ride prevents you from disembarking. Imperceptibly, it starts picking up speed. You sense that hanging on to the railing would be dangerous, but you begin to get mesmerized by the chugging of the engine, the trail of smoke and the gentle swaying of the train. Naseeb Khan's tabla accelerates your heartbeat, Majeed Fareedi's unbelievable alaaps cause you to lose your footing and hang on for dear life, but Rasheed's voice urges you to hang on. When you regain your senses, the train's pulling up to the station, and you're thanking your lucky stars that you decided to stay on.
In the eighties, when Fareedi Sb was alive, him and Nusrat were both claimants to the title of the ablest shagird of Fateh Ali-Mubarak Ali Qawwals. Fareedi Sb remained true to the traditional Punjabi-Khanqahi style of Qawwali while Nusrat veered off at a slightly different tangent, spurred on by his almost impossibly unique talent. Nusrat left behind a huge body of work of variable quality, but I've always been partial to his earlier recordings. That was when he had not let his experimentation get the best of him and was able to let the kalaam take precedence over his vocals. This is one of those early recordings. The arrangement is almost the same as Fareedi Sb's from the recording above, but Nusrat's arrangement - actually Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan's arrangement, he was the arranger for most of Nusrat's repertoire - lends it a more melancholy, almost sepulchural tone. Farrukh's harmonium flourishes and Nusrat's doha - one he used very frequently - set the mood for a stately performance. Nusrat doesn't waste time on vocal calisthenics, instead letting the kalaam ebb and flow through a series of takraars. Again, I'd like to know what raag this composition is based on, because it stirs me up like nobody's business.
My last post was on the 'Tazmeen", a verse form that has fallen out of favor recently. This recording is of a verse form that is even more obscure, the 'Mustezaad'. It is similar to the ghazal but with each verse followed by a short rhyming phrase. For example
کون سا گھر ہے کہ اے جاں نہیں کاشانہ تیرا۔۔۔۔۔اور گلو خانہ تیرا
میکدہ تیرا ہے کعبہ تیرا بت خانہ تیرا۔۔۔۔۔ سب ہے جانانہ تیرا
Another famous example is Maulana Rumi(RA)'s famous mustezaad "Har Lehza Ba Shaklaan But-e-Ayyar Baraamad - Dil Burd Nehaan Shud". Here Murli Qawwal performs it in his distinctive takraar based style. I sincerely hope I can get to listen to recordings from Murli's youth one day. His aged voice is wonderful in itself, but imagine what it must've sounded in its prime.
This is probably the one kalam of Bedam Sb that's performed the most nowadays. It is a fairly long ghazal and Qawwals tend to include either the verses pertaining to Ishq-e-Haqiqi (Divine love) or Ishq-e-Majazi (Temporal love) in their performances, but rarely both. I prefer the former style of performance, but that's a personal preference. In this uptempo performance, Farid Ayaz employs short sargams and taans while Abu Muhammad propels the verses along. Sung in a very 'zor daar' andaz, with a lively dholak and taali accompaniment, this performance exudes the joy and intoxication of 'visaal', regardless of the veils that lie between one and the beloved.
This is probably Bedam Sb's most beloved Naat. Literally hundreds of Naat-khwaans and Qawwals have sung it over the years. Aziz Ahmad Khan Warsi sung it regularly in his mehfils and he sang it wonderfully. Here is the most complete version in my collection. His unique staccato harmonium and the ubiquitous dholak accompaniment are present here, as his his distinctive piercing voice. He builds takraars on 'Sallalaahu Alaihiwasallam" and then inserts rather wonderful takraars in Urdu and Farsi, all the while the dholak provides a steady beat. The takraar is resumed after every verse, with fresh girahs inserted. Warsi Sb's short alaaps and taans punctuate this wonderful performance.
If there's one Qawwali party who's every recording exudes pure joy, it's Ustad Rafeeq Ali, his son Ameer Ali and their party. What a wonderful group of performers, three exceptional vocalists, each with their distinctive vocal stylings, a brilliant dholak/taali section and the wonderful use of Sarangi and Violin. Rafeeq Ali's taans are matchless, and apart from the late Haji Maqbool Sabri, I've rarely heard a Qawwal with a more melodious and mellifluous voice. In this performance, he uses one of Bedam Sb's verses as a doha - one that he used in many other performances as well, then a trio of short, triling taans and we're off. Most performances are led by Ameer Ali, with his father providing occasional vocal support, but this performance is wholly and completely Ustad Rafeeq Ali's, and thank heavens for that. The girah-bandi, the taans, and the gayeki on this recording are absolutely brilliant, and it's a shame that there aren't more than a dozen or so good recordings available of this group. I'll have to specifically ask around for them on my next trip to Faisalabad.
10. Kaash Meri Jabeene Shauq - Haji Mahboob Ali Qawwal
When I started compiling these recordings two years ago, and again more recently, I was struck by an interesting observation. The depth of Haji Mahboob Sb's repertoire was so great that I could post pretty comprehensive selections of all these poets culled only from Haji Sb's recordings. Bedam Sb's kalams were an essential part of his repertoire and Haji Sb performed them with and without Tazameen pretty regularly. This recording is taken from a mehfil that was devoted solely to Bedam Sb's kalams, and each one of the performances deserved to be posted here, but the 'one recording per artist' rule is here for a reason. Haji Sb's girahs , from Farsi to the Punjabi Baits of Hz Ali Haider Shah (RA), are extremely apt, his sitar drones wonderfully in the background and Haji Mushtaq offers alaaps, accompaniment and harmonium flourishes admirably. This is a deeply spiritual kalaam of Bedam Sb, with each verse containing, in his own words a "Jahaan-e-Raaz", and one that is very close to my heart. It will serve admirably to close out this compilation of Hz Bedam Shah Warsi's kalam.
