Ismail Azad Qawwal - Haider Ki Talwar

Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/MuhammadSamie

'Ismail Azad Qawwal, a very celebrated qawwal of the era 1940-50s, was from India and sung many renowned qawwaliz a huge proportion of which were the masterpieces written by Anwar Masroor. He was famous for singing qawwaliz with lyrics having sheer meanings and lessons in them. His qawwaliz were copied in India as well as in Pakistan subsequently. Many qawwals seemed to have inspired by his beguiling compositions and the way he delivered the verses.

'The dominant feature of his masterpieces was the simplicity and the meaningfulness of the kalam and the catchy compositions that magnetized the attention of the listeners and generated a considerable Ismaili fanclub. Unlike a traditional qawwal, he never focused on the 'raag' yet he possessed a melodious, sharp and easily distinguishable voice. Since he made his mark far before the 3 gigantic legends namely Aziz Mian, Sabri Borthers and Nusrat, they viewed him as one of the trendsetters in the qawwali world. Naat, Manqabat and Shan-e-Auliya (Grandeur of Saints) were the major topics of his qawwaliz though he sung for the films as well including numbers like "Hamain To Loot Liya", etc. His famous numbers were "Paaray Paaray Pe Likha Hai Kamli Walay Ka Naam", "Mere Peer Hain Jilani", "Takhti", "Haider Ki Talwar", "Bade Peer Benazir", "Hamain To Loot Liya" and many more.'