
He is popularly known as "Shahenshah-e-Qawwali", meaning "The King of Qawals. He sung many hit Qawwalis, Naat, Hammad and many more timeless collections. He possessed an extra ordinary range of vocal abilities. He could perform at a high level of intensity for several hours. Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan voice can mesmerize everyone even you know nothing about music. He is the exponent of Classical & Qawwalis. Primarily he was skilled as classical musician. Seeing these pictures, we get a rare glimpse into their lives as viewed on their own terms.Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was born in Pakistan in 13th October 1948 and dead in 16th August 1997. Some are old, some are barely past boyhood. The self-photographs we have received reveal something about the various characters of these men who are so integral to carrying on this generations-long androcentric performance tradition. During the archiving of Qawwals when I would ask for images of legendary Qawwals from small towns there were no images, just some random passport pics or blurred images of their youth,” shares Manjri Chaturvedi, the renowned Kathak dancer, who pioneered I Am A Qawwal. “Often, the Qawwal’s families themselves do not have quality photographs of themselves or their forefathers who came before them.
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in which the Qawwalli practitioners take their own selfie photos, or have friends take their photos and send to us for documentation in the belief that this provides a perspective in which we see them comfortable, in their element, not posing woodenly for a professional shoot. I Am A Qawwal, as the name suggests, is a unique self-documentation project. I Am A Qawwal at the Qawwali Photo Project The association of each Qawwali to their shrine is intense and generational. The story continues where the Qawwals at the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia at Delhi are captured as they sing in their daily rituals not as a performance but as a prayer to their Pir. In a largely androcentric performance art, it is important to document the women breaking barriers and participating in performing this music. Leena Kejriwal’s story captures the interesting deviation from the tradition, the presence of women Qawwali performers. With equal aplomb, Mustafa explores the resistance at Delhi and the complete serenity and grandeur of the grace of Hazrat Salim Chisti. Interestingly as an oral narrative, it is said that when Waris Ali Shah the saint from Dewa, was born, his father Qurban Ali Shah was 90 kilometres away in Safipur at the Shrine where he was informed with a famous prophecy that his son will become one of the biggest spiritual saints of the region. Mustafa Quraishi’s photo story is shot in the two prominent shrines of Dewa Sharif and Safipur ironically linked to each other. Dinesh explores them in resplendent colours and the darker tones of a bygone era, as they celebrate their performance art of Qawwali.

The Qawwals believe they are in service of the Sufi saints and would take their message of love forward. The Qawwals give him a peek into their own lives as he follows them at various places. The Qawwals.ĭinesh Khanna’s stories traverse the important shrines of Delhi, Amritsar, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Ajmer and bring out the intricacies of traditions as an integral part of the music at the shrines. This project gives the image to the sounds, the identity to the people who give us the incredible music. The technology at times dehumanises the music form, removes the human and only the sound becomes a memory. Art is how they connect with themselves, their communities, and their sense of spiritual purpose. These musicians come from families where artistic knowledge and practice has been passed down for generations as a precious heirloom. This is what led to the formation of this project, say the people behind it, to show the real faces who lend their voices to this music. The Qawwals of the subcontinent have largely remained faceless, of course, a name and music that people associate with, but not the face of the man. The Qawwals become the voice of the many prayers of the hundreds of devotees that throng the shrine, seeking grace. The images of practitioners with their families, in their everyday lives and in their interaction with audiences and the pulsating connection of energy between them.

The practitioners are photo-documented with their performance art, their lives and their association with the Sufi shrines where they perform. It is an initiative meticulously conceptualised, where the untold story of Qawwali unfolds through the eyes of photographers. The Qawwali Photo Project is the first-ever photo documentation and exhibition on Qawwali. Team Viva discovers that this is the first time that this form of traditional devotional singing has been documented, as it exists today Photographers DINESH KHANNA, MUSTAFA QURAISHI and LEENA KEJRIWAL have come together to exhibit their work for the Qawwali Photo Project in IIC.
