islamabad - National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage  would organize a “Mehfil e Samaa” on October 18 at its media studio with Akhtar Sharif and Sabir Hussain Qawwal.  Qawwali is a musical form closely linked to Sufi traditions of Islam and to the mystic practices developed by Sufi scholars to achieve closeness to God.  Today, Qawwali is a group song performed by professional musicians in South Asia. Amir Khusru (1253-1325), a famous Sufi saint, poet and scholar, introduced this form of music, along with the tarana and the qual, which are said to be the origin of Qawwali. One of the objectives of Qawwali is to induce a state of trance among the listeners, usually at the shrine of a Sufi saint. Qawwali is free in expression, but there are certain rules which may or may not be followed by performers.  A Qawwali starts with a short Alap, followed by Naghma, the dominant tune of the Qawwali performed on a harmonium with handclapping and drumbeats.

This is followed by a ruba’l which is usually sung without rhythm. The main Qawwali is then launched, slowly gathering momentum and tempo while the performers carefully watch the audience.  The dialogue between the audience and the musicians is central to the performance of a Qawwali, the performers often repeating and dwelling on portions which strike a resonant chord with the listeners.