At the manifest level of ishq-e-majaazi (worldly love), this song describes the rapturous moments of (re)union with a longed-for beloved. In this night of ecstasy, the party pooper is the watchman, striking his gong every hour, dourly marking time, cutting short the moments of bliss. One wonders though about the hidden import, the baatin, which echoes at the level of ishq-e-haqeeqi (spiritual love). Who is the beloved who has come home, and who is the watchman, marking time?

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Find lyrics/translation of this song at
http://ajabshahar.com/songs/details/7...
Discover a universe of Bhakti, Sufi, Baul poetry and music at http://www.ajabshahar.org.
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This iconic poem by Bulleshah was first widely popularized by singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and has grown to become one of the most popular qawwalis of the Sufi musical universe. Here Fariduddin Ayaz and Abu Mohammed sing the first few verses of this song on the culminating night of the Bangalore Festival of Kabir in 2009, bringing many young people to their feet!

(Click on Settings for subtitles in English & Hindi.)

Fariduddin Ayaz & Abu Mohammed are acclaimed qawwals from Karachi, Pakistan and belong to the 700-year-old 'Qawwal Bachchon Ka Gharana' of Delhi. They sing in Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi, Pushto, Hindi, Poorbi, Persian, Arabic and Turkish, intermingling with aplomb the voice of Kabir with a range of Sufi poets including Jalaluddin Rumi, Sachal Sarmast, Zaheen Shah and others. Contact them at: +92-300-2105393, [email protected]

The Festival of Kabir was organized by the Kabir Project, Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology along with several other partner organizations in Bangalore in February 2009. It brought together singers from India and Pakistan in an immersive week-long event that included film screenings, live music concerts and talks.

This is one of a series of uploads for Ajab Shahar, a webspace dedicated to mystic poem and song, created by the Kabir Project team (http://www.ajabshahar.org ; http://www.kabirproject.org).

Song Credits:
Lead Vocals & Harmonium: Fariduddin Ayaz & Abu Muhammad
Chorus & Clapping: Ghulam Akram, Ali Akbar, Gayoor Ahmed,
Moiz-uddin, Mubark Haris, Zarrar Ahmed, Shah Laeegh-uddin, Shehzad Hussain
Dholak: Muhammad Ashfa, Muhammad Nawab Kallan

Translation: Shabnam Virmani & Vipul Rikhi

Video Credits:
Cameras: Tahireh Lal & Vinay Dhodgeri
Editing: Aarthi Parthasarathy
Editing Support: Radha Mahendru
Sound: Dipanshu Mitra
Sub-Titling: Mamta Kandari, Nandini Nayar & Shabnam Virmani
Collection: The Kabir Project

Place: Bangalore, India
Date of Recording: Mar 01, 2009