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The 20th Century Greatest

In 1995,Notable Author Paul Williams attended one Of Nusrat Saheb's Concert, probably just because of curiosity....it was just that 4 hours first time experience which forced him to include the Mystero's name in his 20th Century Greatest Hits Book....Recalling the concert as "The Celebration Of Life" he also claimed that Nusrat's each and every concert diserverd a place in his book. Here is a small excerpt.....

This time I get to write about a concert I did attend. There can be no argument that Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan of Pakistan (1948-1997) was one of the truly great singers of the 20th century in any form (opera, popular song, or qawwali) and in any language. Anyone who care about singing and who are aware of the history of this art form in the 20th century and who have ears to hear the available recordings would not deny Nusrat's stature as a great man, great artist, exceptional musician. So it seems eminently reasonable, if one wishes to honor the performing arts, to place one well-executed example of his work in his chosen art form on a greatest-works-of-the-era list. And since it is not easy to determine whether in fact audio or audiovisual recordings of the performing arts can be considered the equivalent (for purposes of making aesthetic judgments) of actually being present at a dance performance or musical concert, it makes sense that the judgment of the singers' live audiences (as individuals and collectively) must be considered by critics and commentators and curriculum committees identifying "great works."

The Last Prophet

"To be a qawwal is more than being a performer, more than being an artist,One must be willing to release one's mind and soul from one's body to achieve ecstasy through music. Qawwali is enlightenment itself."

    •Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on release of his biography,1992. Statement was included in the book
I have nothing but dust from the mazars where the beloved of Allah sleep.I transform this dust through my surs into my songs. A recreation , a perennial recitation of the Holy names of Allah, the Holy Prophet(PBUH) and Ali is my heritage. I will pass it on to the next generation. Perhaps Allah likes what I do and He has opened the gates of blessings on me.I love Him. I go far and wide with the name of my Beloved on my lips. To those who do not knowlanguage I chant Allah hoo, I sing of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and sing of Ali, the people are enchanted.I claim no skill, it is because of the great men of Allah, when I was awarded the Grand Prixin Paris Uxi Mufticame to me in thr green room and said that I possessed no skill for the honour and that it was because of saintsand blessings of Allah. He was right. what is man but a handful of dust and what canhe do?  Myself, I am nothing, If I am anything it is because of my companions. An axe cannot chop wood without its handle. I also cannot do anything without my companions and friends who work with me. They are as important as a thumb is in hand. The more honours I am given , the more afraid I become, that I might not slip inthe eyes of my fans. I pray to Allah to preserve me and keep me in his favour. I need his friendship . I do not bother about the disaffections of the times.  Naheed, my wife and Nida (my daughter) are the two rulers sitting on the throne of my heart. I travel long and wide to extend their empire. But I never forget them. In my heart are two portraits. Whenever I have an opportunity I bend and see them in my heart. The strings of my heart are in their hands. Farrukh and Rahat are my two eyes. I see the world through them. The world looks so beautiful. When these two eyes open it is daylight for me when the close ,the evening strats.  My father Ustaad Fateh Ali Khan, Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan and Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, his brothers are my spritual gurus. I am their son, their acolyte. It is my duty to preserve and protect the knowledge the music that they gave me. I do a lot of experiments but the base is classical music. i ambound with ragas. I may road around the world and may acquaint myself with the western instuments I never wander from the central point. from the stage of WOMAD and from the studios of Peter Gabriel, I always emerge depths of my own music.  The musical instuments may be western but my voice never wavers away from my own ragas. it is good to make experiments and I do a lot of them but my thoughts always round the centre and that centre is the tradition of my elders and it is classical music.. the tradition of my elders and it is classical music..