KARACHI:
Sometimes, in this materialistic world, man is attacked by terrible forms of depression, anxiety and overthinking. In such a critical situation, all that man needs is a healing touch to help him evade all his worldly anguish. It is a natural phenomenon that nearly every soul gets wounded by the siege of grief.
When I was going through the toughest period of my life, mystic qawwalis by the Sabri brothers — Ghulam Farid Sabri and Maqbool Ahmed Sabri — helped me overcome the tense situation I was trapped in. It so happened that I met an elderly person at the Karachi Metropolitan Library. In one of our conversations, I asked him, “Why are people nowadays victims of depression and anxiety.” He replied, “Everyone was running after worldly pleasure which opens the doors to a sense of dissatisfaction in the soul. Hence, man becomes restless.” To get rid of it, he said, people should live a life of simplicity and develop an interest in mysticism, particularly the heart-touching qawwali and the spiritual poems, like of Rumi.
This is how I was introduced to the great Sabri Brothers who — despite being very well-known worldwide and having been awarded with the Pride of Performance by the Government of Pakistan — are unfortunately not very popular among the younger generations. I later also came to know that their group was the first to perform in Carnegie Hall, New York. Sadly, their legacy is gradually vanishing among our people. They used to be the gems of Pakistan and seeing their name fading saddens the mystic qawwali lovers. But I know they are still alive in the hearts of their fans.
Shehzad Ahmed Brohi
Larkana
Published in The Express Tribune, April 29th, 2024.
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