May 08, 2003 06:45 AM
2648 Views
(Updated Apr 11, 2006 03:22 PM)
The World lost its voice on the 16th of August 1997. And this was before it even truly heard the beauty and the artistry of the voice that was to be heard not withstanding political and international barriers, not withstanding cultures, eastern or western, not withstanding religion, and not withstanding prejudice and modern music, its elements and its dominance.
Having said this, it is indeed strange to see that barring a select few, there are a lot of people across the globe who have not heard the name, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, leave alone the voice. Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was an internationally renowned singer who performed many many times across Europe and America to spread his message of love, who was recognised and respected truly in India, although he was from Pakistan.
Unbounded passion and unlimited energy flowing from within him into his songs characterise this singer, may his soul rest in peace, who has redefined what melody is, what passion is, and what music is. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is the finest exponent of sufi music yet.
Sufi music is something that is not identified by one and all. It is a message of love, intense, passionate, and almost hysterical. Most songs are usually in praise of the lord, in whatever form, or in praise of love. Sufi music is the kind of music that glorifies the waiting for the beloved.
His tapes and cds are available all over the world in select stores, from America to Europe to India to Australia, thanks to real world, the premier world music records company. In the United states, ''Borders'' usually carries his cd's in the international section. The best Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan collection that I can site is ''Night Song'' which featured a Michael Brooks, someone I had not heard much of until I started listening to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
There are some very good compilations and some exceptional individual songs of his. I personally like all his songs of love. And although Iam not a muslim, I identify through his songs, the passion and the spirit of Islam although I must admit, I prefer his songs which are non-spiritual.
A widely acclaimed masterpiece of his is ''The Last Prophet''. To people who have not heard sufi music before, I would suggest to start elsewhere.. this compilation is a devotional one and therefore very intense and very emotional. ''Sahib teri bandiyan'' is however the one track that I personally like a lot from this album. If you are indeed spiritual(not necessarily islamic, in fact you could be an atheist too) and if you will follow his music through this album very carefully, and if you start to go through these emotions that he intends you to go through, I will tell you just this; At the end of it, you will be in tears perhaps those of ecstacy, perhaps out of reverence, perhaps out of gratitude, perhaps for just the experience of having seen a world where there are no limits.
Also I would recommend his other compilation ''Body and Soul'' which is an album for anybody and everybody. It has three songs of love, and one in praise of the lord. The best is however ''Barson ke Intezaar ka'' (Waiting for years). To all those who have not heard this man's voice and his music, I hope you will at least try to make an effort to do so, because his is the kind of voice that is not heard any more. He has been a part of movies like ''Dead Man Walking'' and ''The Last Temptation Of Christ''. If you have watched these movies you could not have missed this man's vocals. They almost define these movies and their themes.
It is noteworthy that political reasons notwithstanding his music is popular in India and Europe. From where Iam right now, there is a lot of indignation and hatred toward the muslim community, in general. I can neither agree nor disagree on that. If I were in their shoes I would perhaps do the same. However I do not think that that should give anybody reasons to dislike the music of this master of the sufi tradition that has been handed down through the past six centuries to culminate in the magic, the aura and the charm of the voice that was and is always alive and radiantly so.
Only one other singer, Enya, can match this man for passion and dedication to music. Only she is christian and it is easier for her music to be heard across and over the atlantic, however much an American or a European will deny this. What is this with religion anyway? Don't you believe in your heart and in your mind, that a man is to be respected on the basis of his ability? If so, why is anything else a part of it?
Mozart was supposedly vulgar on every count but his music is not considered that. Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, on the other hand was always a devoted and a sincere musician and his music always reflected that. How many of you who are non-muslim can say that you would not be prejudiced about this and would honestly listen to his music with all the devotion and honesty it deserves. Hey you know what forget all this.. first Is it any fun, this music of his?
Oh yeah!! It is to me. Believe it or not, it is techno! it is electronic music at its best even before it was invented! His music is most popular across places like Asian underground and other cultural get-togethers. So, if you have not heard his music before, I urge you to do so. If you listen to his music with honesty and without prejudice, you will love it just as I do.
Listen to ''Night Song'' if you are just beginning and then move on to ''Body and Soul'' and then to ''The Last Prophet''.
There should be a million songs of his around. You cant miss him.
If you want to listen to snippets of his music before you buy his cds, I would'nt suggest you do it but anyways, you can find some songs here..
https://realworldrecords.com/index.html
search for nusrat if you cant find the songs.
