That Special Connection...

I have a theory…it’s about a special connection, a special fascination, that Shafqat Amanat Ali has, which inspires him to create the music that he does- and the theory emerged after watching some of his recent television appearances.

First, the opening episode of the season 2 of The Dewarists- on which Shafqat along with the music director duo of Salim- Suleiman and Fin Greenall created a song called “Let Go”. And then there was MTV unplugged, again into its second season, where Shafqat featured in the 2nd episode and sang, along with a few of his very popular hits, a brand new song called “Manmaniyan”

Let go

“Akhiyan wich wasda…nazar ni aaunda/Samajh ni aaundi karamat , teri

Hai yeh kaise mujhme sohbat teri…Akhiyan nu de de aasra

Suna tu hai vaade de khara ve…Akhiyan nu de de aasra

Sab toh sona, tu mere ch rehnda /Hai ae kaisi ajab sajavat teri

Hai ye kaisi mujhme banavat teri..Akhiyan nu de de aasra”

In my eyes you dwell, yet remain invisible- just can’t fathom this enigma

You are within, one with me… Just reassure my eyes

You are true to your words, so I’ve heard- Reveal Yourself and soothe my eyes

You, the most beautiful, resides in me- how mysterious is this magnificence

You take my form and that’s why I am…Let my eyes, too behold this glory

Manmaniyan

The Video

“Jagde rehnde na saun, Kaanu vairi hue apne/Bas teriyan rahan te jam gey ne nain mere

Tainu labde ne nain, Phaven din phaven rein/Tainu har vele, kehn, jaaniyan

Das jaa ve dil jaaniyan/Kaanu karna hai manmaniyan

Laaye dere saatho door ve, Kaanu keeta ee majboor/Kinu aakhan dil diyan galaan,Tainu likh likh sanehe ghallan

Teriyan socha ch rehn, Nai thakde kamle nain/Na ik pal lende chein./Dukh tere has- has sehn”

The sleep eludes… my eyes, torment me/ Staring forever at the path you walked on

Searching, day and night/Asking you- Why do you never yield, never relent?You are so far away, and I feel helpless/ Whom do I confide into, have  tried reaching out to you

Thinking about you endlessly, they don’t tire, these crazy eyes/ Never resting for a moment, happily they endure this suffering…

So what’s common in both these songs, besides the fact that Shafqat sang them?

One of course is the genre and mood. Both the songs have the elements of Sufism. Then the lyrics of Shafqat’s portion in Let Go and of course the song Manmaniyan are both in Punjabi and both incidentally, have been penned by the man himself. (That Punjabi is the language that Shafqat has his conversations with God in, is another theory that I have, but let’s just stick to the present one for now)

So the one common thing in these two songs that struck me was that both the songs talk about- Eyes! And my theory is that Shafqat has a special connection and fascination with the word eyes and its synonyms too, when it comes to his songs…

“The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God's eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love.” - Meister Eckhart

This connection with the eyes is not really surprising because it is a well-known fact that there is a strong Sufi side to Shafqat’s personality and you can catch a glimpse of it in every song of his. Sufism often talks about eyes being the gateway to the soul. The eyes and the heart are the senses of the soul and all three are interconnected. We use our eyes to see the physical world around us but when we shut our eyes we start looking inwards.

“I shut my eyes in order to see”-said Paul Gauguin because when we close our eyes we start seeing what we are supposed to see- In an attempt to find an inspiration, in prayer or meditation, while experiencing something beautiful… Many singers, including Shafqat, often sing with their eyes closed… and we often close ours while listening to our favorite songs..

“Then love knew it was called love. And when I lifted my eyes to your name, suddenly your heart showed me my way”- Pablo Neruda

Shafqat also is, by his own admission, a hard core romantic. In fact Sufism is also a form a romance- the highest and the purest- where the soul romances the Supreme. But even for the mere mortal kind of romance the significance of the eyes can never be undermined. So poets and songwriters of all times have written about love at first sight, songs in praise of the eyes of the beloved, eyes shedding tears of separation, eyes waiting for the lost love to return and so on…

“Eyes can only capture objects that are already seen in mind. And mind can only see things that are already written in heart.”- Toba Beta

Shafqat has written the lyrics for almost all the songs of his 3 albums so far. Fuzon’s Saagar was Shafqat’s debut album and the very first song composed for it was “Aankhon ke Saagar”. The other equally popular Khamaj talks about the lover who is silent and urges him to come back – “Nain teehari raah nihare, naino ko tarsao na”. And then there is another one which is called Akhiyan, pleading the lover never to be out of sight…

Probably the best song from his next, Tabeer, is Khaireyan de Naal and it talks about having found enlightenment through love… “Bund Aankhon se raah dikhe, Raanjhe who jot jagayi” It also has a song called Naina- about eyes that have forgotten to sleep as they are so lost in love…”Din mein na soyein bairi, raaton ko jaage, jab se ye paagal naina tere sang laage”

His last released  album was- Kyun Dooriyan, which has a beautiful composition in Pahaari that talks about  how a pall of gloom that has descended in someone’s world since their beloved abandoned them and how the tears from the eyes can never stop flowing…

“Humri Nagariya Chhayee Badariya/Naina Bahein Saari Rain

Aaja Sanwariya Teri Ye Bawariya, Jogan Ho Gayo Bhes”

Like someone has said- “If eyes are windows to the soul, then tears are heavens rain.”

And the mood continues in Mahiya…

“Har Vele Rehndiyan Ne Taanga Mainu Teriyan/Tak Tak Rawaan Akhan Thak Gayeeyan Meriyan

Akhiyan Nu Chaa Barha Channa Teri Deed Da/Ban Ke Tu Aaja Kadi Chann Jiven Eid Da”…

The eyes yearn to have one glimpse of you…appear before me; won’t you like the blessed Eid moon in the sky?

If I ever get to ask him, I am certainly going to ask Shafqat – what’s with you and the eyes? :) Because when Shafqat himself isn’t pursuing the eyes, they are pursuing him…look at the lyrics of some of the Bollywood songs that he got to sing…

Tere Naina –"Rab ki nemat hai teri nighaein"

Mitwa –"teri nigahein paa gayin raahein, par tu ye soche jaun na jaun"

Bin Tere- "Ajnabi se hue kyun pals nazar se nazar yeh milaate hi nahin"

Zindagi se churake- "Ab sath hain hum is tarah aankhon ke sang palken/Aa waqt ko ye baat hum phir ek baar kehde"

Tu hi mera- "Tere Ishq Me Dooba Rahe/Din Raat Yuhin Sadaa/Mere Khwaab Se Aakhein Teri /Ik Pal Na Hoye Judaa"

You might call this stretching the logic, too far: P…but then maybe you should have watched Shafqat at a recent TV channel event singing – “Main kya jaanu kya jaadu hai, inn do matwaale naino mein”- when he was asked to sing a memorable song that he grew up with. And then “Ye nayan dare dare” when asked what his most favorite romantic number was.

Convinced? Do you see the connection, now? For Eye  I certainly do… But  if you still don’t then I suggest that you put on your favorite Shafqat song, 'shut your eyes and  see  listen to the beauty…'

My Stairway to Heaven

“ There is no better way of getting closer to God, of rising higher towards the spirit, of attaining spiritual perfection than music..”.

-Hazrat Inayat Khan

My first brush with religion and music probably happened at the same time. One of my earliest and most beautiful memories is of me sitting next to my grandfather as he performed his morning puja- the daily ritual of invoking the Gods. And my most favorite part was the Arti- the song in the praise of the Gods, that is sung every day in millions of Hindu homes.  He sang it in a very different tune and style compared to the traditional version. This version of “Jai Jagdish Hare” that he sang, I found out later, was composed and sung by Pandit Vishnu Digambar- one of the greats of the Hindustani classical music traditions- the one who  is credited for bringing the classical music out of the courts and palaces to the masses. He is also the composer of the very popular, and Mahatma Gandhi’s favorite- Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram

Music is inextricably linked to religion the world over- there’s music in the ringing of the temple bells… in the muezzin’s call, in the organ playing in a church, in the Buddhist chants… It is just one of the many, and for me the best way, to connect to the higher power up there. So devotional and Sufi are genres of music that I feel a natural affinity for, and there are only a few voices  that have the kind of effect on me that Shafqat Amanat Ali's voice has in this genre.

“Only the flint of man's soul can strike fire in music”, said Beethoven.  The voice that connects me to God must definitely belong to a person who has already established that connection. We get glimpses of Shafqat’s own spiritual beliefs through his interviews. In a very interesting radio interview of his he is asked about the connection of his music to religion and he mentions how his riyaaz, the daily practice of music, always began with reciting the name of “Allah” as that would be the only way to get a perfect round “aaaah” for his alaaps. In another interview he talks of the spiritual influences that inspire his style of music and also the kind of power the Sufi music wields when it comes to matters of faith and love.

The bond between his music/singing and his spirituality shines through in this very powerful and divine rendition of the kalaam of Allama Iqbal by Shafqat and Sanam Marvi

The color of devotion or bhakti is the strongest of all colors.Once you experience it, there's no escape. Like Kabir says...

“Lali mere lal ki, jit dekhu tit lal.

Lali dekhan main gayi, main bhi ho gayi lal.”

Amir Khusro talks a lot about this color that consumes you and makes you one with the Lord...

“Bal bal jāūn main tore rang rajvā

Apnī sī kar līnhī re mose nainā milāike"

This Amir Khusro creation, from the album Tabeer, talks of the desire to get colored and absorbed in devotion. Tabeer showcases beautifully the Sufi aspect of Shafqat Amanat Ali’s music. Sung very differently from the way in which Khusro is normally sung, this song still does what it is meant to do, i.e. converse with God

After the glimpse and the igniting of the desire to be one with Him, begins the search, often guided by madness, a passion. And the search is hard and long ; it tests the patience but the journey is a joy in itself, and the passion to travel on the chosen path is what will eventually lead to its logical end …

Paagalpan- inspired by a Sindhi folk song, again from Tabeer, is a prayer to keep that passion intact…

And while you journey the path of devotion, sometimes the longing to be one with the Supreme is so strong that the thought of not having reunited with Him causes pain and some sadness. Rohi- a Kafi, originally sung by Zahida Parveen , adapted so beautifully by Shafqat for Tabeer, is that yearning..

And the only way to overcome the sadness is surrender to His will- the surrender can be joyful where you happily say – I leave it up to you to guide me.- I go, where you lead me- Naukar Tere, from the album Kyun Dooriyan

Or you surrender sometimes in despair and with the hope that it’s He alone who can redeem you..

Manqabat from Tabeer

And to the fortunate ones He reveals Himself- it is that one moment that when the soul finally becomes one with the Supreme- Raanjha ,Raanjha karti ni main aape Raanjha hoi - and that’s when the soul  celebrates and calls the world to applaud the culmination of its journey….

Aao saiyo ral deyo ni vadhaai. Main var paaya raanjha maahi… the inimitable Bulleh Shah sung by the inimitable Shafqat Amanat Ali…

Bathe me in thy color divine

Keep intact, this passion of mine

I shall yearn, I shall pine

I'll bow to thee , to your will , I'll resign

Then the glorious moment, when the light shall shine

This is the essentially what spirituality means to me...

It’s Shafqat’s voice and his music that takes me through every stage of this spiritual voyage right from desire, to excitement, to the craving, the pain and the final ecstasy-and it transports me to a higher world, each time.  His soulful, Sufi singing is certainly my stairway to heaven!