Hyderabad’s qawwals: Singing for saints, struggling for survival

Hyderabad: Its Friday afternoon and the environs of the Dargah Yousufain at Nampally are reverberating with traditional Qawwalis, a Sufi form of music.

For those regularly visiting the Dargah Yousufain, also known as Yousuf Baba Sharif Baba Dargah, the qawwals, the ones who sing qawwalis, a form of devotional singing related to Sufi philosophy, are not new. The performers are an integral part of the activity seen here for decades on Thursday, Friday and Sunday, plus during the annual urs celebrations.

Saber Ahmed, a qawwal, is one of the regular performers at the shrine. A third-generation qawwal, he visits shrines across the city to sing Sufi renditions. “We being artistes, we cannot offer money at the shrines, so we go there and sing qawwali in praise of the saint. In return, visitors give us nazrana (gifts),” he says.

Earnings fall as demand declines outside shrines

Qadir Ayazzi, who also regularly performs at the dargah, says that the management of several shrines in the city such as the Baba Sharfuddin at Pahadishareef, Hazrat Jahangir Peera at Kothur near Shadnagar, and a few others, allow qawwals to sing on the premises. “On average, during the busy days at the shrines, one earns around Rs 1500 for every performance. The earnings are high during the annual Urs celebrations of shrines,” he says.

Qawwali has lost its existence over the years and is now restricted to only shrines and hotels. “Not long ago people invited us to small gatherings and religious events in the neighbourhood. But, it has come down. Now recorded music is played at functions—the trend robbed us of our livelihood and people no longer recognize our talent,” complained Syed Salam, another qawwali singer.

Adapting to survive: Hotels, hobbies and hopes

Taj Khan, a native of Uttar Pradesh, performs at an upscale hotel in the city. He is accompanied by his troupe comprising seven people and round the year performs at the hotel for the guests.

“We sing the tracks of noted personalities such as Nusrath Fateh Ali Khan, Rahath Fateh Ali Khan, Sabri Brothers, Aziz Mian Qawwal etc and enthrall the visitors. People at hotels don’t want devotional songs,” said Taj.

Learning the qawwali and playing musical instruments is not an easy task. “I spent close to five years learning the art from my ustad (master), I have completed more than 30 years in the profession but could not earn much. After understanding the present circumstances, I advised my children to take up professions so that they earn decently. Is ok, if they learn it as a hobby and hold the family art,” said Mustaq Miya, a qawwal.

The small-time qawwals want the government to support them by hiring their services for programs or sponsoring programs at public auditoriums.