THIRUVANATHAPURAM: When ‘Expresso’ caught up with Ustad Ahsan Hussain Khan and his son Adil Hussain Khan a few hours before their Sufiana qawwali performance at the Nishagandhi Festival on Friday afternoon, it turned out to be a tryst with two devoted artists who live and breath qawwali and are resolved about keeping the tradition of Sufiana qawwali alive for the generations to come.
Ahsan Hussain has been giving qawwali performances for some 40 years now and the audience comprised former Presidents, Prime Ministers, national leaders and top artists. Adil joined him nearly 10 years back.
It was from his father late Ustad Qurban Hussain Khan Saheb (Gwalior family) that Ahsan Hussain took the first lessons in singing. “He used to be a classical vocalist and I took to qawwali since Hyderabad, where we were living, had a climate for qawwali rather than classical singing,” Ahsan remembers. And he was lucky enough to be the son-in-law of late Ustad Azis Ahmed Khan Warsi, who is considered a legend in the genre of qawwali singing.
Having covered stages across India and abroad, Ahsan Hussain is very emphatic that Sufiana qawwali has more takers now. “You have the type of qawwali which is like a competition, another type under which the ghazal falls and the Sufiana qawwali which we sing. And I am happy that Sufiana qawwali is loved more these days,” he says.
When you ask Adil, an MBA holder, about his decision to fall in the line, he would say with a smile, “All ask me that question and I like to answer this one. I have seen that most youngsters tend to ignore the musical tradition which we have and go after the music of the West or the music which is more fast. I found that if I tend to walk away from my family tradition, there won’t be any to carry it forward. It was my own decision and I am very happy about it,” says Adil.
The magic of qawwali, which is about singing the dictums of the prophets and praises of God, lies in the presentation and rendition of the verse. It begins gently and steadily progresses to a high energy level in order to induce that trance like state among the singers and the audience. The state of ecstasy is the beauty of the genre. “There is a ‘junoon’ and not just your voice, your whole body also performs...,” Adil adds.
The spiritual dialogue which tends to create an emotional integration with the audience is no easy task. “We do keep the audience in mind when we choose the qawwali. And one item which is loved by both the young and the old is ‘Dama dam mast kalander...’ Adil remembers having given memorable performances in Myanmar (“the people could relate with the emotion though they didn’t know the language”) and feels the genre has great audience in the UK and the USA.
The eight-member ensemble of the Hussains had their doubts about how much they would be able to communicate with the Malayali crowd, since they had performed only once in Kerala before. “But we are happy that the organisers were thoughtful enough to include Sufiana qawwali in the festival,” the Hussains say with gratitude. K J Yesudas, S P Balasubramaniam and Hariharan are three names from the South which Adil keeps close to his heart. “In qawwali genre, I have met Sabri Brothers and it was great meeting them,” he adds.
The Hussains usually sing the qawwalis by poets like Ameer Khusro, Rumi, Jami and Kalam-e-Hafiz and have been singing in Persian, Arabic, Hindi, Purbi and Urdu.
The duo has been trying hard to revive the status of Urdu language too. “Woh ek meethi bhasha hain (It is a sweet language),” they say.
They promise to take Sufiana qawwali to a higher level. “It is our tradition and we are trying our best to take it to that supreme level.”