The Great Master

In its classical form, the relationship between a musician and his music is very symbiotic. Music offers him an abode where he can feel the flux of its power, explore its subtle nuances and immerse in the immense abundance of its various forms. Often, during the process, the musician creates new compositions and renditions of some particular genre of music, thus contributing to its enrichment. One could surely agree that up to this point, the relationship between the two sounds being more scientific rather than artistic. However, very rarely, a musician crosses the boundaries of tradition and develops a new form, a new school of thought, a new amalgamation of different genres, transforming smoothly from one style of singing to another, carving new masterpieces and scaling new heights. It is here when he becomes indistinguishable and inseparable from his music. This is what I call the romantic form of music.


Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was one such musician. He had successfully blended the free-flowing, prodigious energy of the Qawwali style of singing and the spine-tingling magnificence of the Sufi lyrics with his deep understanding of the Hindustani classical music to create a continuous fabric of beautiful, captivating music. Being a master of Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and Persian, he composed countless masterpieces in all these languages. His songs cover a wide spectrum of moods - from humble devotion all the way to the immense pain of separation. Even after listening to a song numerous times, it is very hard not to feel stirred inside and motionless outside. I like to think of his music as air - sometimes flowing gently like a breeze, creating torrents and causing shivers in the next instance and embracing warmly in the next. Its absence causes vacuum and its presence - sound... life.