Karachi braces for first Qawwali mehfil since Covid-19 outbreak
Things have started to inch towards normalcy in Pakistan with even the most ‘high risk’ establishments planning to open doors after 6-7 months of Covid-19 scare. Educational institutes have started to open in phases and Arts Councils and cinemas have resumed performances and screenings. However, when it comes to live music, things have for the most part have remained in a stalemate.
Aiming to break the hiatus and encourage others to follow suit, Hamza Akram Qawal and brothers of Qawwal Bachay have announced a Qawwali mehfil in collaboration with Karachi’s Club 432. The event titled ‘Mast-e-Alast’ will take place on September 26 and is possibly the first of its kind since the government imposed restrictions back in March.
Taking the lead
“The lockdown was a tiresome period for the entire musician community. People whose bread and butter depended entirely on playing live shows had to endure great hardships with even the government not offering much support,” Akram told The Express Tribune.
“People are dying to listen to live music, it’s just that we aren’t giving it the due importance. When marriage halls and schools can open with SOPS why can’t musicians resume their work? It’s a matter of showing some commitment” Akram exclaimed.
The event was conceived by Akram and Farhan P, Founder and Creative Director of Club 432, who had approached the young qawwal for something else. “I had initially approached Hamza to teach at our learning and performance center but that snowballed into us collaborating on a live qawwali performance,” Faran told The Express Tribune.
“We are collaborating with the A for Aleph studio facility for this particular collaboration. They are producing the most cutting edge audio work in the country and so their input will add a lot of value to not just our live sound but also our live stream of the event,” said Faran P.
SOPS
On the subject of the necessary precautions being taken to ensure safety of everyone at the event, both Farhan and Akram stressed that it was their top priority. “We are selling exclusive tickets just to make sure only limited people attend the event and we are also bearing a loss for that,” Akram elaborated. “That, however is still better than nothing happening altogether”
“We are being careful about following the SOPs practiced all over the world. We don’t want to leave anything to chance,” added Faran. “For a capacity of 250 we are aiming to accommodate an audience of about 75-100 people. That way everyone can be comfortable and have a wholesome experience with necessary social distancing. Temperature check will be done at the door.”
Hamza Akram Qawwal and brothers are the grandsons of Qawwali god Munshi Raziuddin and nephews to the well-known duo of Fareed Ayaz and Abu Mohammad. As a family of qawwals, they claim to represent the 26th generation of the Qawwal Bachon Ka Gharana of Delhi. The Qawwal Bachay are believed to be the first group of qawwals who were taught by the mystic and musician Hazrat Amir Khusrau himself.
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