Situated about 45 kilometers southeast of Lahore, the border town of Kasur is known for its several historic and creative landmarks and contributions to the melodic culture of Pakistan. It is a place where one of the major Punjabi Sufi poets Baba Bulley Shah, whose mystic poetry is revered and enjoyed by the people all over the Punjab, is resting in eternal peace. His mazar (tomb) attracts thousands of devotees from all over the country at the time of his annual death anniversary, which is observed with much reverence and fervour.
For centuries, Kasur has remained a hub of musical activities and has produced a large number of musicians, who later earned international renown. It still is the cultural granary of the Punjab. This extraordinary phenomenon is attributed to the general belief that the 'soil' and environment of Kasur are fertile and congenial for the flourishing of melodic culture and creative talent.
This border town surfaced on the musical map of the sub-continent after the abortive freedom struggle of 1857, when a large number of musicians, including pupils of legendary Mian Qutab Bakhsh alias Mian Tan Rus Khan, the last court musician of the Mughal Court at Delhi, settled there to practise the sophisticated art of kheyal singing.
Before their arrival, scions of Qawwal Bachey clan, who practised dhurpad singing in this town, which was then the popular of musical expression.
Included among the musicians, who won recognition and international fame for their abundant melodic prowess were classical vocalist Ustad Bade Ghulam Khan and his two brothers, ghazal maestro Ustad Barkat Ali Khan and actor-singer Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan. Other prominent musicians, who hailed from Kasur, were classical vocalist Ustad Chhotey Ghulam Ali Khan; clarinet player Ustad Sadiq Ali Khan Mando, a large number of frontline Sarangi and Tabla players, and the unforgettable Melody Queen Nur Jehan, who dominated the sub-continental silver screen for several decades.
A number of practitioners of classical art assert that a distinct gharana of kheyal singers also emerged from Kasur, who popularized their own style of classical singing called the Kasur gharana style. However, a majority of musicians does not subscribe to this belief. They contend that musicians, who were born, bred and raised in Kasur actually practiced the Patiala ghrana style of singing, which was introduced there by immigrant musicians after the political upheavals in Delhi in 1857. Before the introduction of this style of kheyal singing, the practitioners of classical vocalization in Kasur practiced the art of dhurpad singing.
Late classical vocalist Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and his brother late Barkat Ali Khan were fine examples of superb musicianship, which emerged from Kasur. They settled in Lahore, traveled widely and became world-renowned artistes. Both were the first among Kasur-born musicians to formulate neo-classical ambience of the new age and adapted old classical traditions to modern temper.
The special features and characteristics of their style are reflected in innumerable kheyal and thumri compositions, which they popularized and which are now sung by many followers of Patiala gharana style of singing. They were very alert, agile and innovative musicians to whom it became clear in the late 1930s that the romantic impulse in classical music had exhausted itself and the grand style had run its course. Vocalists like these brothers, who were born around the turn of the 20th century and attained maturity in the 1930s could not but feel that they came into this world at a very odd time. It was their historic task to bridge the gap between a dying romanticism and the emerging 20th century.
The contributions made to the melodic culture of Pakistan and the sub-continent by Melody Queen Nur Jehan do not need much elaboration. She became the chief melodic spokesperson of Pakistan representing the light genres and film music. She cut across geographical boundaries fusing the many traditions in the domain of film music of her time, winning encomiums not only for herself but also for the city and country of her birth.