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Striking timeless notes all over again
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When they sing qawwali, it is not just to eke out a livelihood but to correspond with the Almighty. The Nizami brothers, Gulam Farid Nizami and Chandi Nizami, do four hours of riyaz every day as they are meticulous about continuing with their musical legacy. MADHUR TANKHA engages them in a conversation... .
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Nizami brothers... keeping a tradition alive. Photo: Sandeep Saxena.
THEIR FAMILY HAS been singing qawwali for the last 700 years as a means to relate to the Almighty. Still continuing the legacy, the present generation has not stepped back in enthralling the connoisseurs with their craft.
Acclaimed for their proficiency in the music form, the famous Nizami bandhu, Gulam Farid Nizami and his younger brother Chand Nizami, need little introduction, but find mention during this particular time of the year, for their years-long celebration of Basant Panchami. They also took part in a function last week organised on the occasion of Basant Panchami by two Delhi-based NGOs. Then they also performed at Dilli Haat.
Elaborates the elder brother Gulam Nizami, an excellent raconteur, who speaks in a slow drawl, carefully weighing his words, "Basant Panchami may be a Hindu festival but it is celebrated with rejoice by Muslims too. Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya was completely despondent after one of his nephews passed away. One day, his disciple, Hazrat Amir Khusro, who was a big jeweller, saw thousands of people draped in yellow coloured garbs, turbans and yellow flowers singing and making merriment. To please his peer he wore the same dress and went singing to his place. This brought a smile on the countenance of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. Since then our ancestors have been performing on this day."
Sitting on the mattress in a tiny room at his residence, the qawwal, who makes sure you note down the right information, adds, "We also sing Kabir's bhajans like `Man Lago More Yaar'. Listeners of Sufi qawwali include Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians".
Hailing from the Sikandra gharana, the siblings have today removed the misconception that qawwali is sung when a young man is besotted with a maiden. They often sing at the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, which has been a family tradition.
"Basically, there are five basic pre-requisites while reciting qawwali - naksh, gul, kalwana, qaul and rang. Qawwali starts with qual. While ending qawwali we finish with rang. While reciting qawwali we have in accompaniment instrumental musicians. There are tabla, congo, conch, nal, dholak and harmonium players". The 52-year-old veteran says, his two sons, Shada and Saurab Faridi also sing along with them.
The brothers hold their paterfamilias, Sultan Ragi Mehmood Nizami in highest esteem, who even after crossing hundred years of age, continues to assess their performance and castigates them when they give the wrong sur or tell an incorrect verse. "The title Sultan Ragi was conferred on our Walid sahib by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Many years ago he was also honoured by the Sangeet Natak Akademi".
Leafing back to history, Gulam Nizami says, "Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer only ate after listening to qawwali. Since Khwaja Garib Nawaz's time, qawwali started. It was patronised by Hazrat Amir Khusro. He introduced Ahman raag, cut dholak into tabla, made sitar and rabab".
They are nostalgic while talking about other members of their fraternity like the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Sabri brothers. Chand Nizami says, "Once in a classical singing function many were apprehensive whether qawwali could be accommodated. We sung Hazrat Khusro's bandishes, sufi songs and the audience was completely flabbergasted".
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