Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was mesmerising and there is no exaggeration if Japanese could not stop themselves from calling him a singing Buddha and Americans found voice of paradise in him. Nusrat, whose fans elevated him to the status of Shahenshah-e-Qawali left the mortal world at the age of 48, leaving behind a legacy, which is a wonderful and incredible chapter of music history.
Nusrat Fateh was born with God gifted qualities as an artist who inspired fans from every class and age group. Humaira Channa, famous for her film and television singing, got the opportunity to work with Nusrat Fateh. "We worked together for the music of film Pal Do Pal and also for an Indian film," she told APP.
She said Nusrat Fateh achieved an international stature and his every composition struck the charts as a super hit. Pakistani artists feel his absence. She said that Pakistanis should have acknowledged him more and benefited from his talent when the great master was alive. He was a genius and his uniqueness was that he modernised Qawali- a mystical genre of music - and beautifully blended eastern and western musical instruments.
Nusrat's family had an unbroken tradition of performing Qawwali, spreading over generations.
Nusrat's father was initially reluctant to allow him to enter the field of Qawwali but his enthusiasm eventually persuaded his father to train him in the art. His beginnings were humble and at the start he used to perform Qawwali at shrines and fairs. He started his musical career as a tabla player but his parents saw in him potential as a brilliant musician. And that set him on a journey of discovery and accomplishment. An emerging Pakistani artist said, "Strength of Nusrat was the extra ordinary range and strength of his distinctive voice. Unlike what happens to singers in Pakistan, he never fully ventured into the field of playback singing.
He was exceptional and unmatched in the world for the swiftness with which he changed from one sargum (notation) to another and orchestrated music, he said.
His final field over which he held sway was music direction and he reached its zenith. Nusrat made his indelible mark on the musical scene of Pakistan and then his artistic influence made way to the western world.
Nusrat did music project with India music composer A R Rehman and film lyricist Javed Akhtar. Nusrat has vast reserves of energy and mesmerised his audiences as he opened his palms towards the sky. It looked as if he was channelling a divine note through his voice.
In a short span of time, he composed and sang a large treasure of music.
Nusrat reached out to Western audiences through his work with Peter Gabriel on the soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ in 1985, his collaborations with Canadian musician Michael Brook (on the albums Mustt Mustt (1990) and Night Song (1996), and his work with Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder in 1995 on two songs for the soundtrack to Dead Man Walking.
He was very popular among the younger generation and still is. Many prominent vocalists of today both in India and Pakistan got inspiration from him as they honed their musical skills.
Indian singers Himesh and Kailash copy his style of singing. Pakistani singers Naeem Abbas Rufi and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, who is Nusrat's nephew imitate him and are taking forward his brand of music, which has helped them to promote their music careers.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Nusrat Fateh holds the world record for the largest recorded output by a Qawwali artist - a total of 125 albums as of 2001.
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