Fareed Ayaz & Abu Muhammad Qawwal

Fareed Ayaz and Abu Muhammad sing qawwali in the tradition of the Qawwal Bacchon ka Gharana, the Delhi school of devotional singers whose line is traced back to the circle around Amir Khusrau. Fareed Ayaz was born in 1952; the brothers perform with an ensemble that usually includes their sons.

Qawwali as they sing it is a long form: a poem is opened, turned, repeated and pressed until it gives way. Their audience widened considerably through Coke Studio, but the setting they come from is the shrine and the mehfil rather than the stage.