The Last Qawwal

For one, his own talent. His qawwalis are not frantic. He sings itminaan se (at leisure) which builds mood slowly, on quite another planet from rocket-wizard Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. This is ‘‘country qawwali’’ and very soothing, especially Ya Mohammed Mustafa, with its gentle refrain, Tum hi toh the (It was you alone). Besides this signature song, he has two other cassettes out (Mope Kripa Karo Maharaj and Sufiyana Ghazal), all out in Ruhi Cassettes, which are very reflective in tone and pace, and not unsurprisingly resonant with the music of the Pakistani Sabris (whom he’s met in Chicago decades ago).

The Haji’s own story goes back 500 years when Hazrat Sheikh Quddusi came to India from Arabia, with the Haji’s ancestor in his train. Under orders from the silsila of Hazrat Sheikh Moinuddin Chisti ‘Gharib Nawaz’, who was the first Sufi to attempt the spiritual colonisation of India, the Haji’s forbearers settled in the regions of Shahbad, Ambala District, and Bihit (Saharanpur District, UP). Raised in the Sufiyana stronghold of Gangohi, Saharanpur, Aslam Sabri began his public life at age seven in 1953 when he played the harmonium for Lucknow Akashvani and sang the verse: Kabhi husool-e-Alam mein na ki kami maine/Aur tamam umr tadap kar guzar di maine. Forty years of painstakingly collecting the verses of Sufi masters followed, which the Haji paid for himself as a labour of love. He distributes it free and it is his dream now to get it published with the English translation, so that more people in India, who know neither Persian nor Urdu, may nevertheless enjoy the ruhbani (soul speak) of medieval Sufi masters.

As a result of imbibing these teachings, the Haji says, ‘‘I’m a Sunni, a Shia, a Hindu, a Sikh, a Christian. All faiths are good. Main toh sabhi ka hoon.’’ But Haji sahib, while everyone says that, does anybody mean it anymore? Isn’t it just so much political correctness? ‘‘No!’’ says the Haji, ‘‘My biggest fans are Hindus in Konkan, Saurashtra, Maharashtra, UP and MP!’’ In particular, he cherishes the private baithak he was recently asked to give for godman Morari Bapu in Muzaffarnagar. Like all his ilk, this singer, who describes himself as ‘‘the last qawwal’’ and ‘‘only true qawwal’’ has travelled abroad and composed Bollywood-ke-tarane for the duo Shiv-Hari. He’s just made music for a new movie, Mehbooba (starring Manisha Koirala, Aishwarya Rai, Sunny Deol and Ajay Devgan), produced by Ismail Darbar and directed by Afzal Khan. He has a creative partnership with two other seekers, Bismil Naqshband of Banswara (Rajasthan) and Ziauddin Baba of Ankleswar (Gujarat). They compose songs together and ‘‘Morari Bapu meri qawwali shabdon mein batatein hain’’.

The Haji’s own favourites are the late great Ustad Amir Khan, Mehdi Hasan and former ghazal singer Madhurani of Faizabad who, like Begum Akhtar, had to stop public performances when she married big businessman Abbas Jasdanwala. His most cherished moment was on January 21, 1979 at the ziyarat of Sufi Data Ganj Baksh in Lahore. ‘‘All the qawwals of India-Pakistan were present, including Ghulam Farid and Nusrat Fateh Ali. I got the first prize for singing, the

full samman!’’