Eid Mubarak! I have been in a daze since morning, juggling work and other things to a background score of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan singing Khusrao’s Rang — on loop. I don’t know why, but I ended up falling headlong into the nasha of this rendition today - singing along and beaming. It is an old favourite, and many have sung their versions, across the subcontinent, but I have found no match for Nusrat’s renditions. There’s a lovely recording of his Qawwal group, along with the Sabri brothers too on youtube.
Of course Nusrat creates a collage of many different poems as he sings, he jumps from one bandish to another, one phrase to another, sewing together universes of mystic love, longing, desire and eternal union. (The long version of ‘Tum ek gorakh dhanda ho’ is a great example of this - this recording, with the poetry transcribed, is also on youtube). I share with you Rang in beloved Nusrat’s voice first
Visions of Khoye ke Jalebi, Burra, Sheermal, Kheer Sevai and other delicious Eid specials on the street beside Jama Masjid in Delhi distract me. As the festive buzz of the streets outside the historic Masjid fill my mind’s eye, I remember, also, Muhammad Ali Road in Bombay turning into a galaxy of celestial lights orbiting slowly around people milling around eateries and gift shops leaving stardust trails. I think of Nizamuddin, just a few metres from where I live, of the qawwalis, and the ever present air of shelter - I think of how tired bodies and lost souls have found refuge in the open armed warm embrace of the pir for years. So much peace.
Forgive me my romance. I am a sucker for these heartwarming experiences of community, celebration, faith, music and good food. There is so much warmth and togetherness in these moments, much like the youtube comments sections of exceptional coke studio songs! (I have been contemplating sharing a couple here for some time, and will for sure, when the time is right. But for now do read Raju Tai’s Coke Studio Pakistan: Songs from another country that exemplies this spirit of joy I speak about, and a very early poem shared on Poetly - before the newsletter even existed).
So here are two poems by Amir Khusrau, both with Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya - his pir, mursheed, guru, beloved - at the centre. The first is Rang, with a translation from In the Bazaar of Love: The Selected Poetry of Amir Khusrau, trans. by Paul E Losensky & Sunil Sharma, Penguin. The original, of course, musically rendered stays in the mind. Look on the english version, then like a short accompaniment perhaps. But there is an interesting fable around Rang, conflated with the first time Khusrao is said to have met his Pir, who heard his call, his quest for a companion in the mystic journey. This story is elaborated by the awesome storyteller Ankit Chadha, in the early part of this lovely mix of dastangoi and musical interludes that illustrates Khusrau’s life. The second poem is an excerpt from In the Bazaar of Love translated from the Persian - ‘Praise for Nizamuddin Auliya’. Revel then, in the utopic thrill of union, and communion!
If you are reading this, not in your inbox, subscribe to Poetly to receive regular gusts of poetry and commentary by email.