Zulfiqar Ali Khan and Mazhar Husain belong to the traditional Gwalior gharana of eastern classical music. But they don’t mention this when you talk to them unless you insist on knowing their lineage. There’s a reason for it: their family has been living in Hyderabad, Sindh for centuries, and they love the province, its culture and language with all their heart and soul. So, it comes natural to them when they infuse Sindh’s cultural nuances into their art, which also sets them apart from the rest of the classical singers of the country.

Zulfiqar has also ach­ieved an extraordinary feat. He has recently obtained a PhD from the Pakistan Studies Department, University of Sindh, Jamshoro in a unique subject: Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif’s vais. He did that after graduating from NCA in musicology. Recently, Icon ran into the brothers at the Karachi Press Club and sat down with them to elicit their views on the state of music in the country and their future endeavours. The following are excerpts from their interview:

Q: Let’s begin this conversation by talking about Shah’s vais.

Mazhar: Shah is known for his vais, just as Khwaja Ghulam Farid is known for his kaafis.

Zulfiqar: All the Sufis [poets] have created their own genres. Shah Latif used the vai as a means to communicate.

Two brothers have fused the traditions of their Gwalior gharana with the cultural ethos of Sindh

Q: But how would you explain the genre to a layperson?

Zulfiqar: It is a Sindhi word which means awaaz [voice]. To make it simpler: it means the inner voice. Its lines are like the lines of the kaafi but shorter in length. Sometimes only three words suffice. For example ‘jaiki ditho somu’ meaning ‘what I’ve seen’.

Q: For how long did you work on the thesis?

Zulfiqar: I started working on it in 2014 and got my degree in 2017.

Q: There are purists in our society who don’t approve of fusion music, such as the one we see on Coke Studio. What’s your take on it?

Zulfiqar: Coke Studio approached me. I turned them down. Is this answer enough?

 Q: No, please explain.

Zulfiqar: With the advent of social media anyone can say anything. Words have their hurmat [sanctity]. They have their weight. Similarly the surs [musical notes] and leh [rhythm] get no respect on social media. They can go anywhere. But those who do music should bear this sanctity in mind because music is a language and a form of communication. If you keep this in mind, you will be able to use music appropriately.

Q: But to counter your argument, of late there’s a renewal of interest in classical music in our society because of social media …

Zulfiqar: I think taste in classical music has to be cultivated, it’s not as simple as you’re saying. Music should be treated like a proper job. 

Q: Where does the state feature in all of this? What’s the government’s responsibility?

Zulfiqar: The institutions that the state has are trying to do their bit.

Mazhar: We like PTV. It has maintained its standard. Be it a Muharram-related programme or a show on the vai or a Sufi music event, they keep their standard intact. Others don’t. We also respect Radio Pakistan. We have a bond with it. We started from Radio Pakistan as child artists. Our father, Ustad Niaz Hussain, was a music director at Radio Pakistan. He was one of the first musicians who wrote notations for classical music.

With the advent of social media anyone can say anything. Words have their hurmat [sanctity]. They have their weight. Similarly the surs [musical notes] and leh [rhythm] get no respect on social media. They can go anywhere. But those who do music should bear this sanctity in mind because music is a language and a form of communication. If you keep this in mind, you will be able to use music appropriately.”

Q: Tell me about your family.

Zulfiqar: We come from the Gwalior gharana. But we have never been to Gwalior nor do we follow its music. We have done our own thing, and it’s to do with Sindh and Pakistan. We have tried to do fresh things and created our own audience in the process. We got the Shah Latif award nine years back when we were a bit younger. By that time we had done 123 vais.

Q: How can we differentiate between gharanas in terms of their music? For instance, how would someone from the Kairana family present raga Bilawal and how would a Gwalior vocalist sing the same?

Zulfiqar: This can only be answered by performing the raga. Still, consider it a matter of style. Some take away certain nuances from the raga and others add certain nuances to it.

Q: You had mentioned somewhere that you had written a paper on the use of vowels in Sindhi music. This reminds me of Mehdi Hasan Khan Sahib. He had this uncanny ability to use vowels perfectly in his ghazal singing.

Mazhar: Yes, he was incredible. I give you an example. If you ask a poet about words, he will tell you that each word has maatras [rhythm units]. Then there are some difficult words that are not easy to divide into maatras. But Mehdi Hasan Khan Sahib was a master at using them. In one composition he sang the word daao [balance] effortlessly. It’s a difficult word because it has two vowel sounds.

Q: Indian singer Asha Bhonsle in a recent interview criticised contemporary musical trends saying today singers come and go and compositions don’t have a lasting quality to them. My contention is that times change and so do the sensibilities of time periods. These days, too, there are fantastic singers in India such as Shreya Ghoshal and Sonu Nigam. Similarly, Coke Studio is today’s reality, and you can’t deny it.

Mazhar: That’s right, Shreya sings beautifully in sur but let me tell you, tuners are used for her singing as well. I had been to the US. I studied all of this in the US. Don’t get us wrong. We are all for taking advantage of modern technology.

Q: What’s in store for you in the future?

Zulfiqar: Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif’s kalaam is based on several dastaans, seven of which are called surmi, which means a brave woman ...

Mazhar: In our Sindhi tradition we have this thing called Satta Surmi or seven brave women.

Zulfiqar: Some of them are Leela, Moomal, Sassui and Marvi. We thought we should combine the seven tales in composition into one item, one story and choreograph it. We have been working on it.

Mazhar: It’s a huge undertaking for which we need the right kind of people to implement the idea with. All these seven ragas are there in classical music, in Shah’s music and in Sindhi music. Doing so we will try and keep the piety and purity of Shah’s verses unsullied. It’s a difficult task and we need to pick and chose. We will try to keep it of a shorter duration though.

Published in Dawn, ICON, January 21st, 2018