Strains that soothe the soul

SD Sharma

‘Yakeen ke noor se raushan hain raastey apne,
Ye voh chiraag hain, tufaan jinhein bujha na ska.’

This Urdu couplet by Wazahat Sandelvi sums up the determination and resolve of Malerkotla-based ghazal and Sufi singer Safdar Saleem, 42, who, while dealing with partial blindness, has achieved incredible success to emerge as an A-grade artiste of All-India Radio and Doordarshan.

Holding an allegiance to the Amanat Khani gharana, Safdar is carrying on the rich musical legacy of ghazal, qawwali and sufiana sangeet started by his illustrious great grandfather Ustad Hazi Rehmat Qawwal way back in 1930.

Born and raised amidst the soulful strains of music and devotional qawwalis, Safdar alias Sanju was initiated into vocal classical music at the age of five by his grandfather Ustad Mohd. Iqbal, and later groomed by his father and guru, acclaimed ghazal singer Ustad Saleem Iqbal. Safdar aspires to emulate him in Urdu ghazal gayaki.

A shy and introvert Safdar tells us about his journey.

Coming from an established qawwal family, why did you choose ghazals?

All musical genres are legitimate with the basic ingredients of swar, laya, tal and melody. In fact, my father and guru Ustad Saleem Iqbal, following the principle of Ekla Chalo Re, attempted to recreate the magic of Mehdi Hasan and opted for ghazal singing. I had no other option but to follow him. Besides I am an ardent fan of Ghulam Ali and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Thus, ghazal, qawwali and sufi music became my calling. My voice can traverse in all octaves with consummate ease, which is an added advantage for me to justify accurate singing of all types of compositions.

What do you have to say about the changing trends in Punjab’s music scene?

As I understand from my parents, the classical, devotional and folk music had been the lifeline of Punjabi culture but the migration of trained musicians of these genres to Pakistan and other states during Partition created a big gap, which was later filled by untrained musicians and Punjabi singers. However, our family patriarch Haji Rehmat Qawwal and his contemporaries too added the flavour of Punjabi Sufiana poetry of Sufi mystics like Baba Bulleh Shah, Shah Hussain, Sultan Bahu, and others to the repertoire of otherwise popular Urdu qawwalis to retain its prominence. His hit qawwali Saqi Mein Taan Peeni Hai is still popular.

How are ghazal and qawwali surviving the onslaught of the Punjabi pop culture? Are you getting enough assignments?

No genre of any traditional music will ever go extinct. Ghazal is an adab and assimilation of literature, ornate poetry and raga-based music for which there are selective takers while Punjabi pop songs are too easy to grasp. As such, except for a few, ghazal or qawwali singers do not survive on their music alone.