PESHAWAR: Noted Pashto singer Karan Khan has recently released his album comprising Sufi contents and attracted a large audience on social media owing to its soulful sensation and rhythmical music compositions.

He has selected Sufi numbers of Rahman Baba for his fresh volume titled ‘Dagh’. The album received a huge viewership within hours of uploading.

The volume is 11th in the run as gift of Ramazan to his fans. It is also an attempt to strengthen popularity of Sufi music genre in Pashto in which the focus is on spiritualistic stuff drenched in soulful compositions and not on earthly beauty.

“Years ago when I launched experimenting with Sufi singing, I found a rhythmical depth coming out of my heart. The Sufi contents provided one with a novel mystic experience. I never thought, young audience would get attracted to it but it did a wonderful job,” Karan Khan told this scribe.

Karan Khan says Pashto Qawali has already reclaimed its past glory

Prof Abaseen Yousafzai said that Qawali singing in Pashto was on the verge of being faded away and even the audiences were fewer but Karan Khan took the risk and revived the Sufi music genre with new style and expression.

The newly-released album ‘Dagh’ (scar), a symbolic cut of worldly loss in mysticism is interpreted as being dissatisfied with earthly pleasures whether king or a mendicant.

It comprised three Sufi numbers of Rahman Baba, put together in the composition of Sahib Gul Ustad known for innovative music notes.

“The main objective is to advocate peace, humanism and pluralism through Sufi music. Rahman Baba is the unanimously agreed upon Sufi poet among Pakhtuns due to his simple mystic message. The overwhelming response from my diehard fans and general public encouraged to do more such experiments,” said Karan Khan.

Shot on the beautiful background location of Sethi House, an archeology museum in the walled of Peshawar city, which has lent an altogether different visual effect to the video that corresponded to the spiritual sensation.

Sahib Gul Ustad said that voice of Karan Khan was fit to absorb all kinds of rhythmical currents and that’s why his experience in Sufi music became successful especially by singing out classical Sufi poets.

The musicians’ team including Asif Hussain, Waqar Atal, Shakir Arman, Haroon Pakhtun and Shuakat Panyal contributed to the traditional Pashto orchestra of the album.

Karan Khan claimed that ‘Pashto Qawali’ had already reclaimed its past glory and his innovative expressions would add new rhythmical flavour to popularise the classical music genre at world level.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2022