22 Years, World needs Nusrat More than ever

Dearest Nusrat,
You are missed, here in this world that you have perfumed forever with your music. Each and every day I must hear your Heavenly voice. To have been in your presence and hearing your voice, the voice from Heaven–how fortunate I was, to spend time with you, in your music and crossing the globe with you.
The universe had to wait a long time to bring you forth, to the Glory of God.
Your friend, Ebrahim

This was a heartfelt memoir by Ebrahim, who has had the honour of spending a lot of time with NFAK, being his guest and even singing with him. We will hear his story some other day. It has been 22 years since NFAK left us, not alone but as Ebrahim rightly puts, he has left us in a world which is ever fragrant with his music and also his ideology, I have seen NFAK singing inside a Gurudwara; I have seen Hindus, Muslims, Christians, every one listening to the praise of Allah and finding their own God and love in the same. What Nusrat did decades back was what society needed today, to unite, to rise above the race, religion and social status, to love and to accept.

Lets dive in his music, a playlist treat, recently released by Real World


You may buy it here: http://smarturl.it/RW225

A look back at his career

Real World Releasing NFAK Live at WOMAD Festival 1985

NFAK at WOMAD 1985

On the 30th anniversary of Real World, it is releasing new & pre-released NFAK alums this July (2019) via various digital & offline mediums.

Check the announcement here.

Preorder here

When I hear you sing, Oh Nusrat

-over-poemnfakOh Nusrat!

I have not seen Allah or Muhammad or Ali
Nor have seen Krishna
Neither have I heard the Bansuri of Mohan

And yet when I hear you sing Oh Nusrat
I am convinced that there must have been Allah
& Muhammad & Ali
And Krishna
& the maddening Bansuri of Mohan

I have not heard Tansen & Baiju Bawra & Tana Riri

Nor have I seen Deepak Raag lighting up lamps
and Raag Megh bringing thunder & rains

NFAK Dropping Ecstasy, Painted by Nikunj Prajapati

And yet when I hear you sing Oh Nusrat,
I am sure one can ignite lamps with a melody
And bring thunder and rains with another.

They say science can measure the depth of oceans,
The speed of light and the distance between the planets and stars.
They can determine the life of a solar system

And yet when I hear you sing Oh Nusrat,
I realize, how futile it is to define
the depth of your voice,
the purity of your devotion, the completeness of your bhava,
the speed at which you touch and move hearts,
the Karuna that makes us all weep as you sing

Oh Nusrat you are just unfathomable, immeasurable, ‘Befaam’
Oh Nusrat Please come back or call us wherever you are
Cos for sure we will wait for either of them till the end of time.

  • Sanjaykumar Jobalia,  Mumbai INDIA

‘Velvet Fire’ – the Legacy of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan by Dinuk Wijeratne

Dinuk Wijeratne NFAKDinuk Wijeratne revisits Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s legacy from a Musician’s  & student’s point of view. He writes

What I find personally instructive and inspiring is the notion that Nusrat endorsed any collaboration in which the essence of the traditional material was preserved. Like a flower in a foreign garden, our perception of the purity of a single entity is changed, perhaps even enhanced, provided that it continues to bloom untouched in a different environment to what it is used to. Nusrat’s renditions of Qawwali were able to do so regardless of their immediate contexts.

Click Here to Read Full Article