Music mohalla

Located near the Metro station on Panchkuian Road,an old Mughal gate with a Blind School board welcomes you to this colony that came up in and around the dargah of Sayyid Hassan,a Sufi who lived during Aurangzeb’s reign. Continuing with the Sufi’s tradition of oneness of God and religion,the community of Sheikh Muslims who live here earns living by singing devotional songs—bhajans,gurbani,qawwali.

Ahsan Bharti’s family has been living here for ages. Since Bharti is one of the well-known qawwals here,his house is a modern-looking one,complete with marble tiles and state-of-the-art gadgets. With Holi round the corner,Bharti is busy instructing some of the members of his troupe how to sing “Biraj mein holi khele Nandlal”. “Holi would be followed by jagratas leading up to the Navaratras in April,” says Bharti as he chants Jayanti Mangala Kali with a perfection of a temple priest.

Then there’s Shabbir Hussain,who sings gurbani and has performed in various gurdwaras as well as Sikh takhats. “Each gurbani is set to a particular raga and taal,so one can’t tamper with it,” says another qawwal,Imran who,too,sings gurbani as well as performs at various temples during the Navaratras.

Ikram Ahmed,a harmonium player who has also performed with ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas,is busy practising for a qawwali recital at a carnival on the GT Karnal Road.

“Traditionally,we are qawwals who used to sing natiya qawwali during the urs of Sayyid Hassan. Legend has it that the Sufi himself had advised our forefathers to take up this profession. Over the years,we felt that the songs in the praise of gods of other religions could also be presented in qawwali format. The style was accepted and thus,we started a new tradition. It’s much better than singing bhajans in film tunes. Besides traditional compositions,we also write our own songs,” says Ahsan Bharti.

Has he ever faced any hostility while performing the devotional repertoire of religions other than his own? “On the contrary,people respect us more when they come to know that though Muslims,we sing both bhajans and gurbanis. And music like love has no religion,” he says,adding that theirs is not an easy profession. “Years of training in classical music is a must for us.”

At a time when not many would dare to take up music as a profession,this community has not thought of any other vocation. “Some of us have started sending children to schools,but for the rest there’s maulvi sahib at the dargah,” says Imran. His 12-year-old son doesn’t seem to mind that as he goes on practicing on the dholak,unmindful of the people around.