When truth is stranger than fiction: how Amjad Sabri won the hearts of armed robbers

A late-night stop for tea led the famed Qawwal to befriending a notorious gang who provided safety in numbers

The late Qawwali genius that is Amjad Sabri may have accrued a horde of loyal fans during his all-too-short life and illustrious career, but could anyone have guessed that he managed to win the hearts of a gang of armed robbers?

“My father was performing one night in Jhansi, but his performance ran late,” recalled Amjad’s son Mujadid in a recent appearance on Nadir Ali’s podcast. “He had to fly back to Karachi from Delhi the next morning, so he had to leave immediately after his show.”

Leaving on time, however, was out of the question for Amjad as his fans clamoured for more. Wishing to disappoint no one, Amjad’s performance ran for a whopping three extra hours before he felt he was able to take his leave.

“All the locals warned him not to venture out at that time of the night since Jhansi is notorious for being thickly populated with armed robbers,” continued Mujadid. “But he and the rest of his crew went anyway, and stopped at a dhaba for some tea.”

The dhaba, full of customers at even that late hour, was playing, of all things a qawwali by Amjad’s own father, Ghulam Farid. Upon realising who his latest customer was, the dhaba owner went out of his way to welcome the entourage, as did the remaining customers. Who, it transpired, were the very armed robbers Amjad had been warned about.

“They had their guns strapped on and everything!” added Mujadid. “But as soon as they realised my father was there, they came over and said it wasn’t safe at this time of the night, so they would accompany him wherever he needed to go, for their own security!”

True to their word, the gang of armed robbers escorted Amjad and the rest of his team for the remainder of their journey – a mark of how a true charismatic musical genius can win anyone’s heart.

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