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Abida
Parveen is among the few Sufi singers of today who, after the late
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, enjoys international acclaim. It’s a
treat to watch her sing as one can literally feel the devotion to
the Almighty through her sufi offerings.
After enchanting her fans, who largely comprise the connoisseurs
of music, with her numerous albums, she is back with her latest
release titled Bulleh Shah brought to you in India by Times Music...
A look at the
following words of praise from international critics is more than
enough to prove that Abida Parveen is a force to reckon with in
the music world.
- Edward Rothstein
of New York Times: "Pure ecstasy here, in these songs of
Pakistan. Abida Parveen is directed towards the religious sphere,
making ecstasy a spiritual as well as a physical condition."
- Benjamin
Epstein of Los Angeles Times: "Cleansing soul singer has
purification motives -- Abida Parveen of Pakistan tries to spread
a message of love and induce a state of spiritual ecstasy with
her Sufi mystic songs."
- Jon Dowling
of Rhythm: "Expressing the love of God at every turn."
- Los Angeles
Times on Abida Parveen: "The fervour of gospel, the emotion
of soul, the abandon of rock and the vocal flexibility of scat."
| The
album |
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Baba Bulleh
Shah (1680-1757) is an enormous influence on Sufi culture
and music. The present-day Sufi and Punjabi musicians and
intellectuals are indebted to him. And Abida Parveen makes
for an apt singer to pay tribute to this 17th century legend
and genius.
A mystic
poet and intellectual whose teachings are admired and followed
all over Punjab and around, Baba Bulleh Shah was born into
a poor and respected Syed family in Kasur, Pakistan in 1680
AD. He had his preliminary education from a mosque, after
which he went to his mentor Shah Inayat of Lahore, a Qadiri
Sufi, for spiritual training. Opting for poetry and music
as a mode of his message for the people, he spread his message
to the masses through music and dance. His popularity spread
throughout Punjab, and soon his words became monumental for
the generations to follow.
Bulleh Shah composed a lot of poetry in Saraiki, the local
spoken language. His style of poetry, which is now called
Kafi, became an an established style with Sufis who succeeded
him. Babab Bulleh Shah departed in 1757 AD. But his poetry
and ideas are still alive in the hearts of the people.
This is the very first time that Abida has dedicated an entire
album to Baba Bulleh Shah. She personally chose the poetry
that she would render, determined to showcase to the world
the intense, immense depth and beauty that is present in Baba
Bulleh Shah’s works. Bulleh Shah’s poetry, above
all, is about love - love for the beloved who is none other
than God. The total and utter devotion for God is presented
through the love that one experiences towards one’s lover.
The music
arrangement for the album is by Bhavdeep Jaipurwale, a talented
composer who has already demonstrated his skills as a music
arranger in many albums.
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Truly, Abida’s
devotional journey is a joyous musical manifestation of sufism.
Particularly striking is her voice -- strong and beautiful, full
of longing and passion -- making a listener want to accompany her
on the road to divine connection.
After Ustad
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida is an artiste who has emerged as a
driving force in an art form dominated by men. No one, it is believed,
can express Sufi mysticism and its depth as mellifluously as Abida.
Admirers of the late Sufi doyen artiste Nursrat Fateh Ali Khan seem
to have found the true heir to his legacy in Abida, even though
the style and repertoire of the two differ significantly. Abida
may sing ghazals like her contemporaries Iqbal Bano, Farida Khanam
or Munni Begum, but her musical talent truly comes across in her
hearty rendering of Sufi and folk songs in Sindhi, Punjabi, and
Saraiki dialects.
She has been
heralded as one of the finest voices in the Orient, and regarded
worldwide as the ‘queen of mystical singing’. Abida primarily
sings the structured, poetic kafi as well as the soulful ghazal
genre of singing, and the improvisational qawwali style. When she
sings, there is a wild masti about her as she raises her hands exulting
to an invisible God. Her singing is an exquisite adventure into
the music, the lyrics, the melody, the improvisations, the note
arrangements passed down from older generations. Accompanied by
hand-pumped harmoniums, tabla, dhol and dholak, her inspirational
singing, full of fervour, is an experience not to be missed.
Abida, who
was brought up in an ambience of Sufi culture as well as music,
started learning at an early age from her father Ustad Ghulam Haidar.
She was soon performing the songs of mystics like Shah Latif Bhattai,
Ghulam Farid and Shaikh Ayaz at the Urs (annual congregations commemorating
anniversaries) of the Sufi saints in the region.
What strikes
one about Abida’s voice is its authenticity and rusticity.
One of her stylistic devices that wins the hearts of her audience
is the creative "patches" of poetry she inserts between
two different couplets of a poem. These tukdas (pieces) flow seamlessly
into the performance in many forms, ranging from classical Urdu
couplets to dohas in Braj bhasha, or Punjabi - adding more value
to the theme of the central poem. A superb example of music cutting
across all barriers.
The singer,
who is the ‘spiritual daughter’ of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai,
the renowned Sufi saint of Sindh, Abida is considered one of the
prominent contemporary exponents of the great ghazal and kafi musical
styles from the Indian sub-continent. Her singing exhibits the intense
encounter between sensitivity and spirituality that is Sufism, and
she never ceases to portray her fiery love for the Divine.
In the album
Bulleh Shah, poetry is brought to life by Abida, and the album shows
her versatility as a singer. The songs are evidence enough of showing
her mastery over classical music, thumri, Sindhi, Punjabi, Saraiki
and Urdu languages. The Sufi folk songs in the album, with clear
classical overtones, overwhelm and gather one in a spiritual embrace.
Sufi music,
as it originated in the great shrines of the Sufi saints, concentrated
more on the central sentiment, than the poetic expression of a single
poet. Here, Abida takes full liberty with all the Sufi poets such
as Shah Hussain, Bulleh Shah, Farid, Sultan Bahu and bhakti poets
like Kabir and Hazrat to create her own compositions.
Sindh and Punjab,
great medieval centres of Sufi thought and culture have produced
many scholars and mystics such as Shah Abdul Latif, Shah Inayat,
Bulleh Shah, and Sachal Sarmast. Their radical love poetry - comparable
to the works of Kabir, Surdas, Meera and other Sufi-bhakti poets
of North India - has played an important role in evolving the folk
musical traditions of this region. Fakirs and wandering mystics
can be found even today singing the kafis (quadruplets), vais (small
poems), and ghazals of these mystics throughout the region. A dominant
theme of these poems is love, embodied in the age-old romantic tragedies
such as those of Laila-Majnu, Shirin-Farhad, Heer-Ranjha and Sohni-Mahiwal.
The poetry is also characterised by bold resentment against the
logic and reasoning of religious clerics, and stresses on finding
divinity within oneself rather than seeking it in a mosque or a
temple. Sample the verse below:
Oda rab
vi nai ruthda rab di saun,
Jinoon yar manawan da jach hove,
Onuh Makke jawan di lod nahi,
Jinoon yar de vekhiyan Haj hove.
("God does not get upset with those,
Who try to please their beloved,
They do not aspire to go to Mecca,
Their pilgrimage is complete when they see their beloved.")
Abida sings
such verses in the album in her full-throated voice, which is a
definite treat. Great music should have melody, poetry and rhythm.
Abida’s singing has all these three elements in abundance,
which is why she has shot to prominence today.
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