Wadali brothers at their Sufiana best
Ishq Musafir: Journey of Love
(Music Today)

MOST singers give a better account of themselves in recordings as compared to live performances. Exceptions to this generalisation are artistes like Reshma who are best savoured when they are in front of you. In the same mould are Wadali brothers, whose rich timbre is so powerful that even a mike is not needed.

When Puranchand and Pyarelal Wadali render Punjabi Sufi music, they take you to a mystical plane. A narrative in their typical style interspersed with Punjabi pronunciation, may not be everyone’s cup of tea but provides you the satisfaction of being close to your roots.

The music presented in this album was recorded live on December 2, 2000, at Swar Utsav, a concert held at Central Park, Delhi, and retains all the earthy charm of their mastery. They sing two verses of Baba Bulleh Shah, one of Baba Shah Hussain and the immortal Damadam Mast Qalandar of Shahbaz Qalandar. Music is traditional and orchestration minimal, with alaaps and taans dominating.

Puranchand and Pyarelal are the fifth generation of the family hailing from Guru Ki Wadali, the village of the fifth Guru, Arjan Das. They have been strongly influenced by the banis of great Sufi saints and have contributed years to the spiritual folklore of India. Rigorous training under their father Thakur Das and later under Durga Das and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan of Patiala gharana has blessed their powerful voices with a wide range and an ethereal quality which they put to an exalted use.

Aaye Hain Woh Mazar Pe Ghoonghat Utar Ke
(TIPS)

In the cacophony of film and pop music, traditional genres like qawali and ghazal got supplanted. The situation has not changed even after all these years but there is some attempt at revival.

Haji Maqool Sabri and Haji Mehmood Sabri are a respected name in the world of qawalis. Here they present four qawalis in an unalloyed form. The cassette calls these "Sufiyana qawalis", although the fact is that only one of the four, Yeh masti yaar Qalandar Ki …, qualifies to be called Sufiyana.

Lyrics of Aaye hain who mazar pe ghoonghat utar ke… by Qamar Jalalvi are typically romantic and this is the sort of stuff for which qawalis are known. Hum musafir bade dilwale, hum na dekhen na gore na kale… has been written by Mehmood Sabri himself.

Dil Hai Tumhaara
(TIPS)

Call it overwork or the exigencies of Nadeem working only from England, but this cassette does not have the expected fluency of a Nadeem-Shravan creation. All the eight songs are sweet and hummable although none of them can be called outstanding.

A notable feature is that all singles have been rendered by newcomers. While Betaabi kaa… has been sung by Sarika Kapoor, Tauseef Akhtar has lent his voice to Kabhi hansna hain kabhi rona hai…

Shaan had greatly improved as a singer, if one goes by Chhaya hai jo dil … His co-singer here is Kavita Krishnamurthy. The title song by Alka Yagnik, Kumar Sanu and Udit Narayan is the best of the lot.

Sameer is making a name for himself as the Anand Bakshi of this decade.

— ASC