Riding The Qawwali Express

I pulled the shawl tightly around myself and with chattering teeth to keep me company, made my way to the railway station. It was twenty past ten. I had half an hour to spare. The biting cold was a bad host- the streets were almost deserted. Winter is only fun when you know you have a warm bed waiting somewhere. I was headed for an 8-hour train ride from Lucknow to Delhi.

As I neared the station, wisps of music reached my ear. There were people singing nearby. The melody of rich voices, the consistent clapping, the harmonium…I increased my pace and there, in front of the station gate was a gathering of about thirty people listening to one of the most enchanting forms of music- Qawwali.

This traditional and mystical form of Islamic songs promulgates dictums of prophets and praises of god by weaving spirituality with art. It is inextricable linked to the Sufi tradition, where Sufi saints believe rather than prohibiting music, it should be used as a medium of zikr, or remembrance of god. It is no wonder therefore, that like the repetitive turning of wheels, Qawwali songs include a persistent repetition of lines such that the listener and performer enter a trance like phase some believe is ideal for spiritual enlightenment.

Waves of goosebumps traveled down my body as I felt the energy of this confluence of past and present. Here I was, in a street in Lucknow listening to an art form that has its roots in 8th century Persia. Like then, even today it is a communal experience…with a group of Qawwali singers sitting on the floor and the audience actively participating in the performance. But while Qawwalis took almost five centuries to reach their current musical form in India and Pakistan, it took less than forty years for this music to make it to the global platform.

A Qawwali had just ended, and it was time for me to leave. As I walked towards the station entrance, I couldn’t help but look back. Across the road I was seeing a celebration, a pleasure ride as every participant took a swig of spiritual ecstasy. This was devotion sans strings attached. And like the long journey ahead of me, for those sitting outside, the night had only just begun.