Oh people, what is it to you?

Abida’s answer: Aey logon, tumhara kia? Mein janoon, mera Khuda jaane
Staff Report: Daily Times, May 10, 2007

KARACHI: “Aey logon tumhaara kia, mein janoo mera Khuda jaaney,” (Oh people, what is it to you? Anything that I do is between me and my God) sang the legendary Abida Parveen in the last performance of the five-day International Sufi Mystic Music Festival at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, to a crowd that went in raptures over her message at a time when civil society is trying to stem the tide of extremism.

“Aey mullah, janaaza parh, meiN janooN mera khuda jaaney” (Oh mullah, lead the Janazah prayers. The power of judgement lies not with you, but with God alone). This line too elicited wild applause from the audience that included diplomats, foreigners, sleeping babies, bright-eyed young girls and chain-smoking ruffians.

While there were performances by other talents such as Nighat Choudhry, Sohrab Fakir and Jamaluddin Fakir, the Muqam Ensemble from Baghdad and the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s nephew Moazzam Ali Khan and Goonga Saeen, the crowd waited for Abida Parveen. When she came on at around 2:00 a.m. the house was full and stayed that way until her last note.

One man respectfully went up to her dais after taking his shoes off and paid homage to the great singer, much to the pleasure of the audience. And when she finished a crowd gathered at the stage and she shook hands with some of her fans.

The earlier performances included the moving Muqam Ensemble from Baghdad including lead singer Farida. The audience was moved by their request for prayers for Baghdad and the stirring rendition of the word ‘Baghdad’ sung in a lamenting wail in their performance.

The singers from the Eastern Bloc did not strike as rich a note with the audience primarily because of the language barrier. But they did give Karachi a glimpse into their particular phonetic culture. The female ensemble from Egypt who are a rare example of women in Sufi music also sent out the message that this philosophy has many shades that we are not all perhaps aware of.