KARACHI: Farid Ayaz Al Hussaini – Abu Mohammad Qawwal were in their element as they performed before a discerning audience which filled the huge hall of a local club the other night.

Considered one of the leading qawwal parties these days, their name is enough to pull crowds wherever they perform. Being the month of Ramazan and with the added incentive of performing that evening for a cause – fund-raising for a cancer hospice – their performance was at its peak.

The mutual admiration of the listeners and the performers brought out the best in everyone present on the occasion. Said Farid Ayaz Al-Husseini, “The response of the audience is the key to our performance.

If the crowd is educated and understands the requirements of qawwali and responds to the verses, we in turn respond by giving our best.

If the crowd is young and wants something light, we give them what they want. This flexibility is the key to success and is the requirement of the day.’’

The programme continued till Friday night, and a sumptuous sehri awaited the guests after the ‘Rooh ki ghiza’ qawwalis.

Farid Ayaz Al Hussaini has been performing for the past seven years for the cancer hospice and knows what is expected of him by the audience which has been coming to listen to him on the same occasion every year.

Sons of the late Munshi Raziuddin Qawwal, a renowned qawwal and hakeem who belonged to the gharana of Qawwal Bacha Khandan which is linked to Amir Khusrau, Farid Ayaz – Abu Mohammad performed their famous Mankunto Maula, Meray bannay ki baat, Ghar nari kunwari, Chhap tilak, Sab jaey kay mun bodum, Lal Shabaz Qalandar’s Rung alongwith naats and other qawwalis.

As many people don’t know Persian, they translated the verses in Urdu at the same time, which helped the listeners tremendously. Said the qawwal brothers, “We do our research, are well-versed in classical raagas and have been trained from a young age and know many languages, so when we perform it is after a lot of hard work that has been put in it.

We are training our children in the same way.”