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FRONT SEAT: A change in style
One expected an existential, yet out of body spiritual experience in the cool shade of the well manicured lawns of the Alliance Francaise. Illusions though, as is their nature, tend to be short lived. As many a listener strolled in on the night of Saturday last to listen to Maqbool Sabri and his band of qawwals, it became apparent that commercialism had begun to eat away at the very base of Qawwali.
In this age of spiritual machines, it is becoming more difficult to preserve the ancient arts. Kudos to the Alliance for once again taking an interest in our artistic traditions and trying to promote awareness that we too possess a rich and varied culture, and that everything Eurocentric is not the last word on refinement. However, how we choose to (mis)interpret our own culture is totally our headache, and our Gaulish friends should be absolved of all sin.
The “concert” got underway a little behind schedule, with Sabri taking the stage at around 10:15, forty-five minutes later then intended. The gentleman received a rousing round of applause from the audience, compromising mostly begmaat and other socialites in search of an alternate source of entertainment compared to the banality of their usual shindigs. The first major no-no of a Qawwali is unisex seating. Both genders are welcome to attend but there must be some sort of separation as to uphold the sanctity of the event, not out of any prudish compulsion. But as Sabri was billed a “religious singer” on the invitation, pretensions to the fact this was a Qawwali proper should have been buried immediately.
The novice crowd clapped furiously at the end of every piece, a bending of another of Qawwali’s cardinal rules. Again these rules exist not as a spoiler to anybody’s sense of involvement, but as a safeguard to conserve the purity and continuity of an esoteric message
Patrick Perez, head of the Alliance here in Karachi gave a brief, sparsely worded introduction of the group and then beat a hasty retreat. As is tradition, the Mehfil was initiated by a rendering of the Qaul, institutionalized by Amir Khusrau, the legendary subcontinental musicologist and disciple of Khwaja Nizamuddin Aulia. Sabri’s rendition was brilliant, as it easily moved many in the audience to a sobering state of communion. But as that was the only traditional Kalaam presented, it left those who breathe Qawwali high and dry for the rest of the evening. Another irritating detail was the addition of a Yamaha synthesizer in the Qawwal’s backing band. The traditional instruments consist of dholak, tabla and harmonium, and the synth started giving a very mechanical feel to a sound which is supposed to be organic in both heart and soul. Also, there was too much echo in the qawwal’s voice at times, hence a lot of the poetry was lost in the muddy mixing.
The novice crowd clapped furiously at the end of every piece, a bending of another of Qawwali’s cardinal rules. Again these rules exist not as a spoiler to anybody’s sense of involvement, but as a safeguard to conserve the purity and continuity of an esoteric message. It is not advisable to reinvent the wheel. There were some odd bundhs as well. A bundh is a rhythmical or poetic segue that ties two or more quatrains together in the same Qawwali. Sabri did, however pepper the performance with humorous quips in-between pieces, when members of the audience tried to upstage him. After he delivered his main body of hymns, mankabuts, and covers of inqilabi poetry, a farmaishi or request programme followed. This is when the nazar, monetary offerings to the qawwal, started pouring in. Nazar is almost never given to the qawwal. It is presented to the sajjada-nashin, or shaikh present at the occasion, who in turn passes it on to the qawwal. But what was once the domain of the dervaish, now one has to pay to get in.
Commercialism is the nadir of Qawwali. When qawwals become pop stars, the art suffers immeasurably. What business has the dervaish with material trappings? But in Sabri’s defence, he is no doubt a master of his art. This was evident by the supreme segues and hairpin turns he displayed. But when he strays from the classic kalaam, he fails to do his ability justice. One must appreciate the generally well composed crowd, who are not to blame as they should have been briefed on the etiquette of Qawwali by someone in the know, just enough education to perform. This would have saved the gathering from turning into a fashion show. As the marathon performance started entering its third hour, audience members started filing out towards the exits. — Q.A.M
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