Qawwal Hamsar Hayat Nizami regaled city audiences in a recent performance Traditional fervour and zeal marked the celebration of Guru Purnima on July 25 by Shri Sai Samaj,Sector 29-A,Chandigarh. As part of the celebrations,eminent Qawwal Hamsar Hayat Nizami was in the city to perform with his troupe. Hamsar,who started singing at 8,is the son of the famous Hayat Nizami Qawwal and nephew of Meraj Ahmed Nizami,whose family has been performing qawwali at Nizamuddin Chistis Aulia in Delhi for several generations. Guru Purnima or Khidmat-e-khalq (in Urdu) is to surrender yourself to your gurus. Making gurus is easy,performing your duties as a shishya (disciple) is difficult, says Hamsar. A guru listens to everyone,irrespective of his religion and Qawwali unites people together,be it Hindus or Muslims,he adds. Hamsars first Sufi album Apni Masti was released in 2002. He has 57 albums of his own and has also worked in the films like Deepa Mehtas Fire,Tathastu and Main Hoon Na. Music is a way to earn money nowadays,says Hamsar who is quite disappointed with some of the singers in Bollywood. Sufi came from Sufi and ends at Sufi, he adds. Hamsar is a disciple of the great singer Ustad Bade Gulam Sahab though he also strives to evolve his own characteristics of singing. His voice has a sound classical base,as he uses elaborate improvisations and ornamentation of the classical style,such as taans (long crescendos),gamaks and murkis (vacillations of the voice). His favorite quote is,Ya Tu Yaar Ka Hoja,Ya Tu Yaar Ko Apna Bana Le. Hamsar and his friends are a sought-after group in Delhi and elsewhere in India. Besides singing qawwalis,this group has often been invited to perform bhajans of Mata Vaishno Devi,Khatu Shyaam Baba and Shri Sainath Maharaj of Shirdi at religious gatherings.
