BY KALYANI VASAN
LONG BEACH, CA- if music warms the stirrings of your heart, calms your soul and evokes deep devotion then the uplifting concert at the Beverly 0’ Niel Theater here on Nov 17 was for you. Rizwan and Muazzam Ali Khan, both nephews of the late music legend Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, dedicated their Sufi style Qawwali concert to their uncle and at the same time transcended their audience...
LONG BEACH, CA- if music warms the stirrings of your heart, calms your soul and evokes deep devotion then the uplifting concert at the Beverly 0’ Niel Theater here on Nov 17 was for you. Rizwan and Muazzam Ali Khan, both nephews of the late music legend Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, dedicated their Sufi style Qawwali concert to their uncle and at the same time transcended their audience...
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to a new level of spirituality that combined both God and love as one entity. Stage Paint Productions put together the show featuring these two unique talents. Manoj Kaytee of Stage Paint Productions designed the Qawwali stage setting to look like a Mughal era darbar hall with glistening chandeliers, purple backdrop curtains, an antique wood work lattice and the singers sitting on cushions on the floor. Los Angeles does have many classy event centers but, this was the first time an Indian event was held at the Beverly O’Neil Theater. Clad in bright red and gold kurtas the twosome belted out one well known and well received Qawwali after another, many of them now featured in Bollywood movies. For instance, ‘Yeh Jo Halka Halka Sa Suroor Hai’ from the film, Padmavat, and ‘Dulhe ka Sehra Suhana Lagta Hai’ the title song from the film Dhadkan.
When they announced that the next song would be the Punjabi number,’ Aaja Tenu Akhiyan Udeekdiyan’ you could hear the loud applause of the audience, signifying that many from Punjab were present. The lyrics of the song entwined human love as well as God’s love while thirsting for a vision of this love. The two singers have in the past expressed that Sufi music is music of the soul, a devotional expression of love and peace.
The word Qawwali in Arabic means ‘utterance’ and was traditionally performed in Dargahs and dates back centuries but the credit of bringing it to current global audiences in the 90’s goes to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Rizwan and Muazzam have kept this light burning by performing throughout the world. Besides flawless diction be it Urdu, Hindi or Punjabi, the two singers played off each other’s strengths, often teasing each other musically, singing in perfect unison, and hitting musical notes that seemed humanly impossible. Sufi music which is expressed in the form of Qawwalis has a history wherein the singers would sing entirely to the beat of a clapper orchestra devoid of any musical instruments. However, in this concert musical instruments were present but, the musical strengths of the clappers were evident as they held together the singers as well as the entire orchestra. The concert was a four hour presentation with not one person exiting the auditorium.
After the intermission the singers sang a Qawwali in Punjabi ‘Neme Jaana Jogi de Naal’ a Coke Studio presentation followed by the popular ‘Mere Rashke Qamar’ and ‘Mohabat ko koi Manzil Nahi Hai, Sahil Nahi Hai’. Both these numbers had the audience tapping and clapping along while the singers launched into a full mode of audience - pleasing.
‘Dulhe Ka Sehra Suhana Lagta Hai’ was requested by a well-wisher in the audience followed by a couple more including a devotional shabad penned by Guru Nanak. What followed was the spirited ‘Afreen Afreen’ and the program ended with an even more spirited and voracious ‘Damadam Mast Kalandar.’
Charanjeet, the Los Angeles based singer served as the Master of Ceremonies and graciously introduced the musicians. Manoj Kaytee of Stage Paint Productions along with Bobby Suri the agent of the musicians and Rocky the LA promoter all came to the stage to thank the sponsors as well as the audience.Manoj Kaytee credited the success of the program to his coordinators Sunny Bhalla, Zoya Khan, Jaspal Jammu and Nazir Beria who worked tirelessly despite having only three weeks in between shows featuring Sunidhi and Badshah just three weeks ago.
When they announced that the next song would be the Punjabi number,’ Aaja Tenu Akhiyan Udeekdiyan’ you could hear the loud applause of the audience, signifying that many from Punjab were present. The lyrics of the song entwined human love as well as God’s love while thirsting for a vision of this love. The two singers have in the past expressed that Sufi music is music of the soul, a devotional expression of love and peace.
The word Qawwali in Arabic means ‘utterance’ and was traditionally performed in Dargahs and dates back centuries but the credit of bringing it to current global audiences in the 90’s goes to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Rizwan and Muazzam have kept this light burning by performing throughout the world. Besides flawless diction be it Urdu, Hindi or Punjabi, the two singers played off each other’s strengths, often teasing each other musically, singing in perfect unison, and hitting musical notes that seemed humanly impossible. Sufi music which is expressed in the form of Qawwalis has a history wherein the singers would sing entirely to the beat of a clapper orchestra devoid of any musical instruments. However, in this concert musical instruments were present but, the musical strengths of the clappers were evident as they held together the singers as well as the entire orchestra. The concert was a four hour presentation with not one person exiting the auditorium.
After the intermission the singers sang a Qawwali in Punjabi ‘Neme Jaana Jogi de Naal’ a Coke Studio presentation followed by the popular ‘Mere Rashke Qamar’ and ‘Mohabat ko koi Manzil Nahi Hai, Sahil Nahi Hai’. Both these numbers had the audience tapping and clapping along while the singers launched into a full mode of audience - pleasing.
‘Dulhe Ka Sehra Suhana Lagta Hai’ was requested by a well-wisher in the audience followed by a couple more including a devotional shabad penned by Guru Nanak. What followed was the spirited ‘Afreen Afreen’ and the program ended with an even more spirited and voracious ‘Damadam Mast Kalandar.’
Charanjeet, the Los Angeles based singer served as the Master of Ceremonies and graciously introduced the musicians. Manoj Kaytee of Stage Paint Productions along with Bobby Suri the agent of the musicians and Rocky the LA promoter all came to the stage to thank the sponsors as well as the audience.Manoj Kaytee credited the success of the program to his coordinators Sunny Bhalla, Zoya Khan, Jaspal Jammu and Nazir Beria who worked tirelessly despite having only three weeks in between shows featuring Sunidhi and Badshah just three weeks ago.
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