We have been given to understand the very complex nature of the relationship between the temporal and the eternal through a simplistic dogmatic equation ’ishq-i-haqiqi and ’isqh-i-majazi. Very often it is being mouthed without comprehending its contradictory nature. In poetry too, much of what is disturbing and unpalatable or not in line with the convention is brushed under this subsuming equation. The relationship is quite strained if it is posited to context the rituals of the sufis categorized as malamati or as qalandar.

At the shrine of one of these, Shahbaaz Qalandar, a naubat is played, either solo or collectively. It is a little difficult to trace as to when it started being played on the shrine. It is generally accepted that it has been played since the days of Shahbaaz Qalandar himself. It is played twice in twenty-four hours – at dusk and dawn. On both occasions, it is accompanied by the dhamaal. To many, dhamaal too started with the Shahbaz Qalandar and the tradition has continued till the present. It is a dance performed on the rhythmic variations of the naubat and is probably the most artistic manner of losing one’s identity and merging with the collective and bigger identity of invoking a state of trance that helps in obliterating the distinction between the self and other.

At shrines in Sindh and Balochistan, the music that accompanies the various rituals is not the qawwali, at least it was not so till 1947. It is generally assumed that qawwali was tailor made to address the musical areas that spirituality called for. Other reasons are also cited as being some kind of a reaction against the religiosity associated with the shrines of other denominations in this area. It may have been a counter creation of a musical form.

It must be that qawwali was a product of the various compulsions in the areas round Delhi. It is said that Amir Khusro was primarily responsible for this form of quasi-religious music in accordance with the wishes of his patron, Nizamuddin Aulia. Two of the biggest congregations of the qawwals thus were held at the Delhi and Ajmer in line with the growing ritualism at the shrines around that area promoted by the Chishtia sufis.

Though it is a little difficult to understand the difference between the various silsilas (orders) of the sufis and the interpretation of tariqat as exercised by them, especially in the current era, heavily influenced and laced by reason, there must have been a definite purpose for the variations in the emphasis granted to tariqat. If so, then the arts, especially the performing arts, must have played a major role in its expression. Music and dance thus must have become an integral part of the spiritual fulfilment that the occasion demanded. The orthodox interpretation of the huge role that the sufis played has been allied to the shariat. Actually, it is the varying relation between shariat and tariqat that forms or informs the entire need for the practice which may seem to be in excess of what is conventionally expected of piety. And if one looks at it from the lens of a cultural practice, then the need for it becomes more clearly released from the apologetic associations attached with it.

Very little really has been documented in script or pictorial forms as most has travelled down generations seena ba seena in an oral transmission of information which can be treated as the only source of knowledge. As the urs of Shahbaz Qalandar is one of the biggest festivals in Pakistan, one wonders what was the contribution of Shahbaz Qalandar that warrants such a big gathering of musicians who pay homage to him. Whether his contribution to music was of a patron or that he was more actively involved in music making like some other sufis from Sindh who followed him many centuries later – like Shah Abdul Lateef Bhitai - is open to speculation. As in almost all cases concerning music, the evidence that can be backed with documentation is scant. If the reality of continuous practice of musical rendition and performances at his shrine for centuries is considered solid evidence, the proof of a living tradition points to him having strong links with the art form.

Even when the urs is held in the middle of the city it is considered to be an aberration of a strict code of piety. As children, we were not allowed to go to the urs even if it was held next door. The urs does bring a rural feel to the spot and is an expression of excess and abandonment which the middle class do not find easy to gulp. Shahbaz Qalandar was a distant presence but in the last six decades or so “laal meri pat rakhio bhala jhulay laalan” has introduced him to the urban audiences, and all kinds of versions have been in currency since. It is very difficult to say whether this composition is by Shahbaz Qalandar himself or by one of his devotees. It is equally difficult to vouch as to how old it is. Master Ashiq Hussain, who composed a myriad of unforgettable melodies for the Pakistani cinema for almost five decades, claimed that he composed what could safely be called the world’s most famous dhamaal for Pakistan cinema. This composition has propelled numerous artists from the subcontinent to international fame.

(The urs of Shah Baaz Qalandar was held last week in Sehwan).

The author is a culture critic based in Lahore