Vadodara8217;s qawwals sing their swansong

VADODARA, Dec 1: The stink in the narrow lanes of the Hathikhana locality here will be abhorrent. The herds of goats and as many pigs wil...

VADODARA, Dec 1: The stink in the narrow lanes of the Hathikhana locality here will be abhorrent. The herds of goats and as many pigs will hinder your movement. But follow your ears and the recital of the Urdu couplets will never fail to guide you where the qawwals, probably the best in the State, rehearse with their harmoniums.

8220;Bharen to kaise bharen pet bachchon ka, yahan zamir bhi bechen to kimaten kum hain, How do I feed my children, even my soul, if I offer, will not fetch me enough,8221; goes one of latest ghazals of the internationally-known qawwal Noorjehan Begham Jaipuri. And probably sums up the lives of all the qawwals residing here.

At 75, Jaipuri sings almost daily to keep alive her talents. But the yesteryears8217; most popular ishkana and sufiana qawwal has neither the recognition nor programmes to display her talents.

For today she has to depend on her two daughters, when it comes to earning a livelihood. And the little that they earn through performing in marriages and festivals keeps her kitchen 8212; actually her one-room house 8212; burning.

But it was a different story till about a decade ago, when she got money as royalty from the music company HMV for her Extended Play records and the programmes in which she performed.

8220;But those were different days. Music was respected then unlike today,8221; says Jaipuri, who till 1980s even accompanied well-known singers like Aziz Nazan, Jani Babu and others in their programmes.

Even her next door neighbour, 50-year-old Mohammad Umar Mullawala 8212; president of the Gujarat Qawwals8217; Association with about 30 qawwal groups as its members throughout the State 8212; has now opted for organising programmes not restricted to qawwali alone.

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Today a singer can hope to get Rs 1,000 for a programme, he says. And though it fetched the same amount even during the last decade, it is the number of programmes now which have nosedived drastically, he adds.

Even he agrees that the very style of qawwali has been affected today. 8220;One, then, tends to compromise on talents and tries to make spicier stuff,8221; he claims. Earlier, a qawwali began with a note of praise to the different institutes of sufiana qawwali. Today, with just a formal touch to such a beginning, the qawwals come to the spicier lyrics, claim Parvez and Salim, also qawwals who live in abject poverty here. Even the traditional dresses and instruments like the dholak and tabla have witnessed a dramatic change, they complain, attributing it to the downfall of this semi-classical school of singing.

However, authorities in the music circles of Vadodara and the Sangeet Natak Academy at Gandhinagar seem to be aware of the facts. While M S University Faculty of Performing Arts Dean D N Bhonsale says he will soon hold discussions to 8220;honour8221; some of the qawwals of Vadodara, SNA secretary Anis Mankad and Member A H Vaishnav claim they are thinking on giving some financial support and official recognition to some of them from their special fund.