April 15, 2007
Women Qawwali Singers
In the comments to my posting yesterday of several qawwali videos, John left a comment asking "Where are the women? Are they barred from singing this kind of music? Who are the great women qawwali singers?" Srijith appropriately replied that, "Qawwali has been traditionally a male art form. I would say one of the most famous female exponents is Abida Parveen." So here's an Abida Parveen video:
And my friend Shabbir Kazmi responded by reminding us that many Indian and Pakistani movies of yesteryear used to stage qawwali competitions between male and female qawwali parties, and by sending this lovely video of a qawwali from the film Barsaat Ki Raat (do check it out, and wait a couple of minutes into the video for the women to come in):
Posted by S. Abbas Raza at 02:17 PM | Permalink
Comments
imho just because abida parveen - without doubt a wonderful singer (sadly more focused on histrionics today) - sings some pieces hithertofore mainly or even exclusively performed by qavvaals does not make her a qavvaal (muzaffar ali's marketing notwithstanding). nor does that piece, in her rendition, however enjoyable it may be, remain a qavvali ... for it lacks many of the traditional ingredients of that genre, including the rhythms and taalis associated with it.
Posted by: zakintosh | Apr 16, 2007 9:29:26 PM
Qawwali can be seen in its technical sense or a spiritual sense. If we take qawwali in its spiritual essence, then Abida Parveen is singing qawwali.
Posted by: Nicholas Klacsanzky | Apr 25, 2013 8:34:05 AM
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