Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Jashn-e-Khusrau: A collection - Shakeel Hossain, Irfan Zuberi

"Today I received this amazing book via Deepak from Tenerife. What beautiful pictures and a fantastic presentation. Just glanced through it so far and was blown away by the large format layout and the way the CDs are packed within. Every element spells quality. Irfan I know now what you meant by the joy you feel in seeing it. I do too. You, Shakeel and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture should be proud of their work. Barda zordaar kaam kiya hai aap ne. Bohat mubarak! I'll always be happy to share it with visitors to my home. aur mazay ki baat ye bhi hai ke cover pe aap ne hamari li hui Montreal ki Qawwali ki tasveer daali hai. Mamnoon hun aap ka Irfan aur Deepak ka. 


By the way, the powers that be, really should try to get it distributed to book stores overseas in Europe and in North America, also into all Aga Khan centers worldwide. It is such a celebration of our rich heritage. This book is accompanied with a collection of 3 CDs of qawwali music and is a must have for all qawwali lovers." 
~ Arif Khan





ABOUT THIS BOOK
This collection compiles the events of Jashn-e-Khusrau, a festival illuminating the genius of Amir Khusrau, held at Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti and India International Centre, Delhi in March 2010. The festival was organized and produced by Aga Khan Trust for Culture in collaboration with Archaeological Survey of India and India International Centre. It was funded by the Ford Foundation.
Jashn-e-Khusrau celebrates the sūfīānā kalām (mystical poetry of Islam) of Amir Khusrau (1253 – 1325). Rendered in the khānaqāh (shrine) of his beloved pir, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya (1238 – 1325), the kalām has been kept alive for over 750 years by the qawwālī singers in the shrines of the Chistiya silsilā. The festival puts together an exclusive assembly of selected khānaqāhī qawwāl with different dargāh affiliations – each with distinctive style and repertoire. In that way it is singularly unique. It includes several other related events such as lectures on the poetry of Amir Khusrau and its contribution to qawwālī tradition; a discussion with the qawwāl on the development of the qawwālī styles and contents; heritage walks in Nizamuddin Basti where Amir Khusrau lies buried next to Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya; film screenings on sūfī music and on Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – one of the greatest exponent of qawwālī of our time; and an exhibition displaying Humayun’s Tomb, Sunder Nursery and Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti area urban renewal initiatives.
Jashn-e-Khusrau: A Collection presents three music discs exemplifying the vast repertoire of khānaqāh īqawwālī and Amir Khusrau’skalām. The book presents, in the first section, three essays with an introduction articulating the history, tradition, and literature of khānaqāhīqawwālī as attributed to Amir Khusrau. The second section compiles the kalām of the qawwālīs included in the discs with transliterations and translations

"With much joy, I'm posting the link to the publication I've worked on for nearly two years along with a wonderful team of scholars, designers, and, of course Qawwals! 'Jashn-e-Khusrau: A Collection' features 4 research papers, a section containing calligraphy, transliteration and translation of 20 kalams of Amir Khusrau and a set of 3 Audio CDs featuring the renditions of the kalams by 6 fantastic Qawwals - Meraj Ahmed Nizami (Delhi), Ghulam Hussain Niazi (Delhi), Iftekhar Ahmad (Amroha), Mohammed Ahmed Warsi Nasiri (Rampur), Ghaus Muhammad Nasir Niazi (Karachi) and Fariduddin Ayaz & Abu Muhammad (Karachi). I hope that the wonderful members of this group order the book for themselves as a resource and a collector's edition we've intended it to be! :-)" ~ Irfan Zuberi



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