Q: Have you ever faced threats or warnings from fundamentalist groups?
A: Not really because qawwali is not an ordinary performance but ibadat . Groups that have diverged from the traditional, purely devotional form may face some protest while performing in the more remote areas but they are fairly popular in cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.
Q: When performing in the West, do you change your style to suit the taste of the audience?
A: Qawwalis can go on for the entire night. But when we perform abroad we sing qawwalis only during the first half of our performance. After the interval we generally sing ghazals . We also sing poetry written by Kabir, Tulsidas and others. (via What you see in films is not qawwali'-Interviews-Opinion-The Times of India)
Who would imagine that
Muslim singers will sing Tulsdas' compositions - the most well known Hindu devotional music composer of the last 500 years. Colonial detritus separates Pakistan and India - politically. But, 60 years after separation, the cultural and value systems still remain.
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