By Zulfiqar Ali Malik
Today marks the 62nd birthday of Ustaad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He passed away 16 years ago but still is more than alive. It won’t be wrong if we say that the generations born after his death are also his fan just like we are. Such are the artists who are born free of space and time. He is undoubtedly recognized globally.
Unfortunately, Ustaad passed away at a very young age and when his body was brought to his hometown, Faisalabad, it was one of the biggest funeral the city had ever seen. And not just in Pakistan but globally, Ustaad’s loss is felt as one of the biggest loss in the history of not just music but art itself. He was recognized all over the world and some of the Japenese Buddhist used to worship his portraits as he looked like one of their gods.
Ustaad brought revolution to the music industry, an innovation which was missing from centuries. The way he blended the music of different types was legendary. One of his legacy is to make the traditional fading classical music acceptable for the new generation in such a way that it became free of time and space and will be loved by the generations to come.
As I grew up, and listened to more and more of his songs, I realized that he was not just a singer or a man with extraordinary talent but he had something else. He was spiritually gifted. When I first listened to one of his remarkable work (tum ek gorakh dhanda ho) I was shocked. It had a spiritual effect on me which cannot be described. “Koi to hai jo” was his famous “hamd” which has an effect of a revelation. The way he tells the common people about God and makes them understand about God in that “hamd” makes me believe that this man was gifted by no one but God Almighty. Many religious scholars and preachers cannot match this despite the fact that they have spent their whole lives preaching about God and explaining to the people about Him but this one man did it in his work of just few minutes.
This man was a very down to earth and simple man. He got fame of Einstein, qualities of a saint, voice of heaven, style that can never be matched, music that was eternal and message that was for humanity. He served his people and the musical fans all around the world in a very short span of time. No one can match his abilities ever and people like him are not born every day and never die.
Another great fact about Ustaad is that in his short period of life he gave so many songs which can fit to every type of mood one has. For happy people he is the best option to play and celebrate and for sad, he is the only option left to listen to and try to kill the pain. Most of my friends, I have noticed say that whenever they listen to any song of Ustaad in any mood, they feel like it is being sung for them.
Now I know why God called him so early, they always say that God calls his beloved earlier than others. I just wrote these words to let you all know what I know about him and how much I respect this man. Every word of this man has a message for humanity and hits the soul and heart. Today is his birthday and on this day, I just want to pay tribute to him and instead of mourning, I want to celebrate this day because I love him and I believe that he is alive. When I talk about my friends about him, I use the word “Ustaad”. Because he is one, he is the teacher of teachers and even Ustaad is a small word to address this man with the level of respect that he deserves.
Not everyone in the world is so gifted like Ustaad. Wherever he used to go, people listened to him even though they didn’t understand a word he said. As far as religious and spiritual content is concerned, Ustaad is matchless again. He was close to God and that is the reason the world calls him gifted. May he rest in peace. I love him and for the new generation, this man is a key. He is a Universal Voice, understood by all people, of all regions of the world. A key that is available everywhere around them, they just have to discover and explore. Like I did and it helped me, a lot. Long live Ustaad, “Ustaad diyaan shaanan uchiyaan” (Great is the place for Ustaad).