All in One: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Jalsah in Dhaka
Mustafa Zaman Abbasi
Courtesy: The Daily Star

Dhaka had its first 'jalsah' with Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan on June 17. The hall at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre was filled with Dhaka connoisseurs -- 'the young and the wealthy,' 'the bold and the beautiful,' -- waiting and waiting as the artiste finally took the stage

Immersed in passion. Photo: Mumit M.

10 minutes past 9pm. The jovial Ustad appeared on the flower-laden stage flanked by two minarets amidst thunderous applause. He readily surrendered with a smile, "I was waiting too all these years to sing before you, believe you me. Dhaka must be the ultimate destination of Qawwals and Ghazal singers."

When he hummed the first few notes, the hall did fill up with the presence of his uncles, the late maestro Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mubarak Ali Khan's sonorous vocals and 'gharana.' The audience and the smart MC Munmun knew that this evening must be a memorable one. It was. Each and every song (about 20) was unique. The perfect form of his voice, throwing, orchestration, and coordination -- all combined -- made the show unique. I call it, "Rahat: all in one."

I could describe each and every song of the soiree titled, "Safar Mein," that he rendered flawlessly, from classical 'tarana' till the last item, "Mast Kalandar." The theme and presentation formed a uniform quality for which I took the pen.

Why is Rahat regarded as one of the best performers at this young age, especially in Qawwali? Bollywood admires him for a reason. He sings in a voice unparalleled. It is sweet in all the 4.5 octaves, which he uses. In the highest pitch where his voice would stand, it will produce the same melody where he would start. And this is the beauty of his renditions. He is on solid foundations of his uncle Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who was the greatest in his time. Rahat further chiselled to add melody and he moves from lower to the higher with 'sargam,' 'taan' and also 'boltaan.' His is an impeccable combination of classical 'tarana,' 'ghazal,' 'qawwali' and the modern. This took up a unique form, where his 13 musicians provided 'sangat' in a way hardly seen. Four vocalists repeated his earlier renderings. Two drums, one 'tabla' (Ahmed Ali) and one 'dhol' articulated the beauty of the 'taal' in a variety of presentations. Most commendable were the performances of two instrumentalists, namely, saxophone by Rashed Ali Khan and Spanish guitar. The univox was in action throughout. The harmoniums played a lesser role.

The Punjabi folk song in "Raga Bhairavi" was a delight for me. Special lighting effects when singers were up and down was enjoyable, too. This was an innovation on Dhaka stage. Movie songs from Mumbai filmdom were of high quality mainly due to fine orchestration and softer lyrics. Most of these were already known to our audience, namely, "Teri Or" and "Mann Ki Lagan." The best song of the evening, in my opinion, was "Main Jahan Rahun, Main Tumhe Chahun," the reason being his exceptional modulation throughout. His voice curved wherever it wanted to suit the journey of the artiste. The 'qawwali,' "Husnwaalon Se Allah Bachaye" was a happy mixture with western beats. It was indeed a journey. I thank my thoughtful daughter Sharmini for giving me this advance present on Father's Day. I thank the organisers, adscience and its CEO, Rifat.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was wearing a gold chain with diamonds. The chain was visible as he performed. His music swayed our hearts more than the diamonds. The stage with 14 artists sometimes beamed divine light. This is the beauty of divine music.

The writer is a noted singer and music exponent