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Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi is a renowned ghazal exponent from Pakistan. His only concert in India was at the Old Fort (Purana Quila, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purana_Qila) which itself has an interesting history.

Idhar Zindagi ka Janaaza Uthega (Here the funeral of Life will rise)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9a97QFjtKA

This is one of his best ghazals sung in Urdu. The translation is amateurish but gives the general idea, many concepts/phrases are almost impossible to translate.


Toone aankhon se mujhko Raam kiya (with your eyes you subdued me)
Aankhvaalo me khoob naam kiya (You made a great name for yourself amongst those with eyes)
Aur apne saath loot kar khushiya (Having stolen all the happiness)
Tyar ko toone shaad kaam kiya (You rejoiced in the joyful work you did)

Idhar zindagi ka….. (Here in this life….
Hum to tinke chun rahe they aashiyaneh ke liye (I was collecting straws for my nest)
Aap se kisne kaha bijli giraane ke liye (Who asked you to send down a bolt of lightning)
Haath thak jaenge kiyon pees rahe ho mehndi (Why are you grinding the henna, your hands will be tired)
Khoon haazir hai hatheli pe lagaane ke liye (Here is my blood for your palms to apply)

Katl karke jo chala rooth ke dil per mujse (After the killing, anger ran through the heart ??)
Khoon daura mera kaatil ko manaane ke liye (The blood flowed to obey my killer’s bidding)
Idhar zindagi ka janaaza uthega (Here the funeral of Life will rise)

Ishq ko dard-e-sir kehney waalaoon suno (Those who say love is a pain, listen to me)
Kuch bhi ho hum ney dard-e-sir ley liya (Whatever it is, we brought this pain it upon ourselves)
Woh nigaahon sey bach ker kahaan jayenge (Where will it go to save themselves from her gaze)
Ab to unkay mohallay mein ghar ley liya (Now that it has a home in her neighborhood)

Aaye bunthun key shehr khamooshaan mein wo (The town folk have all arrived in silence)
Qabr dekhi meri to kehne laage (After seeing my tomb they said)
Aray aaj itney to iski taraqqi howi (Goodness, today he is being elevated/celebrated so much!)
Ek beghar ne accha sa ghar ley liya (This homeless person has now found himself a good home!)

Idhar Zindagi ka Janaaza uthega (Here Life’s funeral will rise/be held)
Udhar Zindagi unkey dulhan banegi (There Life will be her bridesmaid)
Qayamat se pehle Qayamat hai, Yaaron (It is Judgment Day that comes before Judgment Day, Friends)
Meri saamne meri dunya lutegi (My world is being stolen in front of me)

Jawani pe meri sitam dhaane waalon (Those who put this tyranny/oppression upon my youth)
Zara soch lo zamaana keya kahega (Please think what the age/times will say)
Idhar mera armaan kaffan pehen lenge (Here my hopes/dreams will wear the shroud)
Udhar unke haathon me mehndi lagegi (There in her hands the Mehndi/henna will decorate)

Woh parday ke peeche, mein parday kea age (She is behind the curtain, I am in front of the curtain)
Na woh aayen aage , na mein jaoon peeche (She will not come forward, and I will not go back)
Woh aage barhein to kuch bhi na hoga (If she comes forward, nothing will happen)
Mein peeche hatoon to dunya hasegi (If I go back the world will laugh at me)

Asal se Muhabbat ka dushman hai dunya (In truth, this world is the enemy of love)
Kahi do dilon ko milne na degi (It will not let two hearts meet anywhere)
Idhar meri dil per khanjar chalay ga (Here in my heart, the knife will let fly)
Udhar unkey maathe pe bindi sajegi (There on her forehead the bindi/red dot will decorate)

Abhi unkey hasne ke din hain, woh has lein (These are their days of laughter, let them laugh)
Abhi mere rone ke din hain, mein ro loon (These are my days of weeping, let me cry)
Magar ek din unko rona parega (But one day they too will cry)
Ki jis din meri Mayyat uthegi (That day will be when my corpse will rise)

Meri mayyat pariyon ke jhurmat me hogi (My corpse will be amongst a cluster of angels)
Janaaza haseeno ke kaandhe pe hoga (My funeral will rise on the shoulders of these beauties)
Kaffan mera hoga unhi ka dupatta (My shroud will be their head scarf/head dress)
Bari dhoom se meri mayyat uthegi (With great pomp my corpse will rise)

Two other songs of his from Coke Studio - with a more polished translation although it still can never convey the beauty of poetry in its native form. I have posted these two before but worth posting again. Attaullah Khan has occasionally been dubbed the 'King of Tragedy" and is also know for his shawls he sometimes has draped on his shoulder while performing.


The Camel-riders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55-ExedKAr0

If Not With Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRoDbwoeBcQ

This song is a good candidate for the greatest love song ever ....

Afreen Afreen (Rahat fateh Ali Khan & Momina Mustehsan)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw4tT7SCmaY


We’ve never seen one with such beauty as she
Hers is the beauty of the sculptured idols of Ajanta*
Her beauty has bewitched our gaze
Her beauty is an alluring song
Her beauty is a heady fragrance
Hers is the beauty of scented moonlight
Hers is the beauty of a haunting melody
Hers is the beauty of a blossoming garden
Hers is the beauty of the first light of dawn
Hers is the most exquisitely hewn beauty
Warm and smooth as sandalwood
Pure and delicate as marble

It is impossible to describe that beautiful beloved
It is impossible to describe that beautiful beloved
Praise to her Creator! Praise to her Creator!
Praise to her Creator! Praise to her Creator!
Whoever sees her must succumb to her spell
Praise to her Creator! Praise to her Creator!
Praise to her Creator! Praise to her Creator!
It is impossible to describe that beautiful beloved
It is impossible to describe that beautiful beloved

I don’t know what enchantment your gaze wrought
My heart became drawn to you irresistibly
The bright dawn of my face, the dusky twilight of my tresses
All that was mine is now devoted to you
Your eyes met mine
And ever since then a spell has been woven
I feel that I have become beautiful

Her face is fresh as a flower
Is it her face in its brilliance or is it the moon itself?
Her face is sheer poetry
Her face has the beauty of the lotus flower
Her face is an artist’s thought and also its translation
Her face is both dream and realization
Her face is some magical tale
Her face is both certainty and supposition
Her face is like no other seen anywhere
Splendidly luminous, dazzlingly radiant

It is impossible to describe that beautiful beloved
It is impossible to describe that beautiful beloved
Praise to her Creator! Praise to her Creator!
Praise to her Creator! Praise to her Creator!
Whoever sees her must succumb to her spell
Praise to her Creator! Praise to her Creator!
Praise to her Creator! Praise to her Creator!
It is impossible to describe that beautiful beloved

- Translated by Zahra Sabri

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajanta_Caves

Descent to the Ocean Floor (Usman Riaz)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdYPWo4-ZT0

Shilpa Rao (India) crosses the border to collaborate with Pakistani musicians at Coke Studio


Paar Chanaa De (Shilpa Rao & Noori)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrPvQvbp3Cg

Farida Khanum - Aaj Jaane Ki Zidd na karo (Don't insist on departing tonight)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDJL2FyRDeA

Sufi-rock !
Jhalliya (Foolish One) - song built around the poetry of Bulleh Shah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ffgSc2c5F0

Mai Dhai & Karam Abbas - Aaankharli Pharookai
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn2fZh7ZUFI

Mai Dhai is an unlikely Coke Studio rock sensation ....






Mai Dhai’s humble backgrounds trace back to the Manganiyars, a caste of musicians that used to perform for the kings of the subcontinent. Remaining true to the traditions, her demure looks give no way to her prowess of capturing the audience with her wide range of rhythm, merged with the high-pitched and high-strung vocals that compel you to listen.

Mother of six, her parents hailed from Jodhpur (India) and eventually settled in a village called, ‘Haveli’ in the interior region of the Sindh province. Formally trained by her own mother, as Mai effortlessly dives into the folk melodies, she transports you along with her to the scorching landscapes of Tharparkar, home to the grand music anthems she owns for the duration of the performances.

There are more reasons than ordinarily perceptible making Mai Dhai’s debut in Coke Studio, Season 8, special and memorable: she rocks with the house-band, performs duet featuring Atif Aslam and Karam Abbas, but most of all doing it all as if it were business as usual.

She has now sung in New York and Austin...a more traditional performance in Austin (SXSW 2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4L8DzFmNXg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mai_Dhai

Lagi Bina/Chal Mele Noon Challiye (Sanam Marvi & Saieen Zahoor)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3tS2oTUvHI

leonard in india :

..."He told me he wanted to buy a 'humble abode' in Mumbai. But he was put off by the red tape here," she said. Another time, Cohen joked to Mr Mathur: "I am settling down here. Why don't you find me a good Jewish bride?"

But something more transformative happened to Cohen's visits to India for conversations with his guru and friends. ..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-37971848

Jews of Mumbai - Hanna
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrdG7O0UIO4

the holy places where the races meet...
Muslim Gatekeepers of the Jewish Synagogue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKQBvgyBdt4

Two very different interpretations...

Rang (Rahat Fateh Ali Khan & Amjad Sabri)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uks8psEpmB4

edit: Amjad Sabri was murdered by the Taliban June 22, 2016 at age 39. This was his last major performance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amjad_Sabri

Rang (Hadiqa Kiani)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdz0xrXY9I4

p.s. and yet another...

Rang (Fareed Ayaz & Abu Muhammad)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BOPPS0GhW0

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan & Amjad Sabri

Kush wrote:
Rang (Rahat Fateh Ali Khan & Amjad Sabri)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uks8psEpmB4

edit: Amjad Sabri was murdered by the Taliban June 22, 2016 at age 39. This was his last major performance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amjad_Sabri

What a fantastic performance, and how utterly tragic and appalling that Amjad Sabri was murdered by the Taliban, Kush. And then there was another massacre by Isis in a Sufi temple in Pakistan in the news recently. They may kill the singers, but they cannot kill the song...

Thanks for continuing to bring this enthralling qawwali here.

Glad you enjoyed it, Diane. According to wiki, Amjad Sabri was assassinated because of blasphemy. I wonder what was considered blasphemous by the Taliban types about his music and/or life ? There are gruesome images of his assassination on the internet.

Incidentally, the main text for that piece (I noticed the 3 versions have plenty of variations) came from Amir Khusro (1253-1325), a court poet in the Delhi Sultanate. He could not have even imagined or had any idea of how his words would be sung and the music arrangements in the 21st century. An illustrated version of his works or books of poetry (Khamsa) was produced in the court of Emperor Akbar around 1590. One of his poems is Alexander Visits the Sage Plato in His Mountain Cave. The painting is attributed to Basawan in the Emperor's court.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/13.228.30/

Hi Kush,

I have come back to that beautiful painting a few times, simply to marvel at it (and just copied it to my computer). It has a certain luminescence and the folk depicted sure appear to be 'traveling light'.

Thinking about Hindu mysticism if it's not too out of place in this thread, I thought I'd copy here some info about Parvathy Baul, who is known to the family of a friend who lives in India:


https://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/s ... temid=5349


It really fascinates and heartens me that such people are still around in 2017. You would never get away with dancing around barefoot singing about God in Europe or the US. Hats off to all practicing mystics, of whichever stripe!

A Baul converses with his or her Beloved through songs and chanting, trying to connect with Him in the heart. Baul’s unique songs are carried forward century after century through the master-disciple system. These metaphorical songs, based on mundane life experiences, are composed mostly in simple, colloquial Bengali. Their special language is called sandhya bhasha, “twilight language,” and is loaded with cryptic mystical meaning.

The Diamond Truth Tale
—Rasika Dasa, translated by Parvathy Baul

O my mad heart,
Where do you seek the divine treasure?
Leave all that insanity; be in silence.
If you want to attain the unattainable One,
Free yourself from all that is
Fragile and temporary.
Know yourself. Six thieves live in your house.
Go not to them. Go to the sweet
invisible one that always flows in love.
Who is it awake in you?
And who is it asleep?
Who is it that dreams
While you are asleep in the night?
The One in the middle,
Hold on to His feet.
The main door of your house
Is beneath, in the patala.
It is locked. Open that door
By going beyond the conscious self,
The dark sky. And the door will open,
By the grace of guru. Be patient.
You will enter the door
And journey upward.
The truth remains.
It is neither born nor decays.
It can be realized in this body
Only through surrender to the guru.
Rasikadasa says, my mad heart,
Drink only the truth.
By knowing that worldliness is illusory,
Keep faith, my heart,
And the divine treasure will be yours.

Very nice, Diane. I will read the interview later on...

You would never get away with dancing around barefoot singing about God in Europe or the US. Hats off to all practicing mystics, of whichever stripe!

I cannot speak for Europe but you clearly have not visited San Francisco ! As Mr. C says... It is here they got the spiritual thirst

And he was Canadian by birth and Californian by choice...he should know !

Incidentally, Bob Dylan has had a long association with Baul singers and especially Purna Das Baul who appeared on the cover of his album John Wesley Harding ! He even attended Mr. Baul's son's wedding ..

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/nobel-la ... ta-1474727
(both father and son speak of Dylan's visit in the video)

I had earlier posted Afreen Afreen on this thread which has the lyric

We’ve never seen one with such beauty as she
Hers is the beauty of the sculptured idols of Ajanta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw4tT7SCmaY

The 29 Ajanta caves is the location of rock cut sculptures and paintings in the Buddhist India era and developed in two phases between late 3rd century BC and 480 AD. I recently bought a thick coffee table-sized book focusing mainly on the murals by Benoy Behl. It is an awesome collection of paintings photographed with natural light or occasional artificial low light conditions (the caves are very dark). This book is highly recommended. I hope to visit the Caves in the not too distant future...




From the inside front cover:

The exquisite murals depict the Jatakas (tales of previous incarnations) of Lord Buddha, scenes of princely possessions, ladies with their handmaidens, bejeweled animals, ascetics in monasteries and fantastical birds and beasts, all demonstrating a startling degree of sophistication

Kush wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2017 4:28 am

You would never get away with dancing around barefoot singing about God in Europe or the US. Hats off to all practicing mystics, of whichever stripe!

I cannot speak for Europe but you clearly have not visited San Francisco ! As Mr. C says... It is here they got the spiritual thirst

You're right of course:-), but (not having been there yet, so I dunno for sure), I always think of India as having a holy chap - or chapess - on every corner, rather than more or less confining themselves to where they'll be 'accepted', as is the case in US/Europe.

Great to hear/see about the Ajanta Caves. Not surprised you plan to visit and see the murals in person. Envious. Enjoy! It all sounds wonderfully ancient and poetic.

Just listened to Afreen...great singing, if a bit poppy in comparison to other stuff you've posted in this thread. Thanks Kush.