Qawwali by Meraj Ahmed and Party

These are items of Sufi qawwali performed by Meraj Ahmed and his party. Meraj Ahmed is attached to the dargah of the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya, where he regularly performs. He is of the Chishtiya sect, the followers of Saleem Chishti. Qawwali is performed at the dargah and at the shrines of Sufi saints as well as in Sufi mehfils, which are performances commissioned elsewhere. The structure and order of the songs vary in both of these contexts. This is an attempt to represent, in the prescribed order, the variety of the songs sung in a Qawwali performance.

Meraj Ahmad Nizami, Bulbul-e-Chisht, normally known as Meraj, is the most senior among the descendants of Tan Ras Khan, the famous nineteenth-century court singer. "Nizami" indicates his attachment to the saint Nizamuddin Auliya, while "Bulbul-e-Chisht" is his honorific title conferred upon him by the late Khwaja Hasan Nizami, who was a famous Sufi sheikh. (Source: Qureshi, Regula Burckhardt, 1986. Sufi music of India and Pakistan: Sound, Context and meaning in Qawwali, Cambridge University Press. Cambridge Studies in Ethnomusicology.)

Track Listing

101	Naghma-e-Quddusi (Quddusi's melody) Meraj Ahmed and Party	02:03
102	Hamd - Khushk tar o khushk chob o Meraj Ahmed and Party	07:21
103	Na't Shareif- Jahan roshan asth Meraj Ahmed and Party	03:21
104	Manqabat - Batufail-e-daman-e-Murtaza Meraj Ahmed and Party	11:48
105	Manqabat - Tori surat ke balihari Meraj Ahmed and Party	06:00
106	Panchayati Qaul - Man kunto Maula Meraj Ahmed and Party	12:43
107	Qaul - Lata mafi hal-e-wajhul Meraj Ahmed and Party	04:31
108	Rang - Aj rang hai Meraj Ahmed and Party	05:38
109	Ghazal am - Ye kisne nigahon se sagar pilaye Meraj Ahmed and Party	10:07
110	Ghazal firaq - Eri sakhi more piya ghar aye Meraj Ahmed and Party	07:24
111	Wahadat-ul-ujud - Koi ho ho na ho na ho Meraj Ahmed and Party	07:17
112	Geet - Chhaap tilak sab chheenee re Meraj Ahmed and Party	12:51
113	Mubarak - Aaj badhawa Meraj Ahmed and Party	11:42
114	Salaam - Saba basuye madina rokun Meraj Ahmed and Party	08:44
115	Bhajan - Kanhaiya yad hai kuch bhi hamari Meraj Ahmed and Party	03:32
116	Hori - Shyam sundar tohse khelungi hori Meraj Ahmed and Party	20:11