The rich tapestry of Qawwali is often a family affair.
Many of the great qawwals — singers of devotional Qawwali music — have come from hefty lineages of musicians, and built their groups, known as parties, out of the connective dynastic tissues of siblings and family members. In much of the music you can hear some sense of this; the way the collective melodies and harmonies seem to reach beyond planes of past, present and future, somehow holding roots and heritages along with a distant, different realm, all in one hand.
Such is the case with the exquisite Pakistani brothers Rizwan and Muazzam Ali Khan, and their latest body of work, At the Feet of the Beloved. The siblings come from a veritable Qawwali dynasty comprising some 600 years of qawwals; not least, their uncle, the late, great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (NFAK), widely considered as the ‘Shahenshah-e-Qawwali’ — the King of Qawwali. Taught by Rizwan and Muazzam’s grandfather, NFAK’s work and his exceptional voice helped bring Qawwali to a global audience, spreading the Sufi Islamic form’s message of spiritual love and longing to connect with a divine, higher power, regardless of any perceived barriers of culture, language, religion or ethnicity. It is this sentiment which the duo, along with their party of seven other musicians providing secondary vocals, instrumentation and percussion, seek to continue, carrying the torch and opening up people worldwide to that sublime, uplifting power.
Still, when they were children, young Rizwan and Muazzam’s father, Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan, wanted the pair to focus on their studies, not wishing to distract them by teaching them music just yet. But, as their manager and long-time family friend Rashid Din explains, that thing in their genes, in their bones, still found a way; without telling their father, the siblings entered school music competitions. Eventually they won a competition comprising the whole district and the news was picked up by the local press; and so, people began to congratulate their bewildered father on his sons’ success.
Around the same time, the managers of a local Sufi shrine came and asked Mujahid if their sons would perform there. He was surprised at such an esteemed request and initially turned it down, reasoning that he had not taught them and so he wasn’t sure they could even sing. But the managers pointed out the local press item celebrating their regional win and so, according to Din, their father conceded: “‘Okay, if this is the case, then I will let them sing; but I will not sing with them. I will sit and watch.’” While finally watching them perform, Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan realised that – even without his guidance – his children had inherited the family gift. So it was that he decided to begin teaching them the craft in earnest. They would also enjoy the mentorship of their uncle, NFAK, and were heavily influenced by his work.
