Off to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I don’t miss Summerfest my close friends are joining me there. I will keep posting from there. Looks like I will be there all the days this year.
Enjoy the summer warmth everyone.
Remebering An Emperor
Nusrat was born in Faisalabad, Punjab on October 13, 1948 to Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, a distinguished musicologist, vocalist, instrumentalist, and Qawwali performer. He had one brother, Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan.Initially, his father did not want him to follow him into the familybusiness. He had his heart set on Nusrat choosing a more respectablecareer path and becoming a doctor, because he felt Qawwals had lowsocial status. However, Nusrat showed such an aptitude for, andinterest in, Qawwali that his father finally relented and started totrain him in the art of Qawwali and he was also taught to sing withinthe classical framework of Khayal.This training was still incomplete when Ustad Fateh Ali Khan died in1964 while Nusrat was still in school, and the training was continuedby Nusrat’s paternal uncle, Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan.Ten days after his father’s death, Nusrat had a dream where his fathercame to him and told him to sing, touching his throat. Nusrat woke upsinging, and was moved by the dream to decide that he would makeQawwali his career. His first public performance was at his father’sfuneral ceremony forty days later. Under the guidance of Ustad MubarakAli Khan, he became the group’s leader in 1965 and the group was calledNusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan & Party. (“Party” is the term used in Qawwali for the supporting members of the group.)
Nusrat’s first public performance as leader of the family Qawwaligroup was in March 1965, at a studio recording broadcast as part of anannual music festival called Jashn-e-Baharan organized by RadioPakistan. It took Nusrat several years more to perfect his craft andemerge from the shadow of the groups that were regarded as the leadingcontemporary Qawwals. But once he did, there was no looking back. Hefirmly established himself as the leading qawwal of the 20th century.His incredible voice and his complete mastery of the genre made him asuperstar in the Indian subcontinent and the Islamic world. He sang in Urdu and his native Punjabi, as well as Persian. He was also one of the first South Asian singers to perform before large Western audiences.
Nusrat took over his family’s qawwali party in 1971 after the deathof his father and his uncle. In Pakistan, his first major hit was thesong “Haq Ali Ali”. This was performed in a traditional style and withtraditional instrumentation, and featured only sparse use of Nusrat’sinnovative sargam improvisations. Nevertheless the song became a major hit, as many listeners were attracted to the timbre and other qualities of Nusrat’s voice.
He reached out to Western audiences with a couple of fusion records produced by Canadian guitarist Michael Brook. In 1995, he collaborated with Eddie Vedder on the soundtrack to Dead Man Walking. His contribution to that and several other soundtracks and albums (including The Last Temptation of Christ and Natural Born Killers), as well as his friendship with Peter Gabriel, helped to increase his popularity in Europe and the United States. Peter Gabriel’s Real Worldlabel released five albums of Nusrat’s traditional Qawwali performancesin the West. Real World also released albums of his experimental work,including Mustt Mustt (which features a slap bass technique) and Star Rise. He also performed traditional Qawwali live to Western audiences at several WOMAD world music festivals.
Nusrat provided vocals for The Prayer Cycle put together by Jonathan Elias, but died before the vocals could be completed. Alanis Morissette was brought in to sing with his unfinished vocals.
Apparently, when Nusrat toured in foreign countries, he would watchtelevision commercials in order to identify the melodies and chord progressions popular in that country. He would then try to choose similar sounding songs from his repertoire for his performances.
Nusrat contributed songs to, and performed in, several Pakistanimovies. Shortly before his death, he also recorded two songs for a Bollywood movie, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, in which he also appeared.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan holds the world record for the largest recorded output by a Qawwali artist—a total of 125 albums.
Nusrat was taken ill with kidney and liver failure on Monday, August 11, 1997 in London, England while on the way to Los Angeles from Lahore to receive a kidney transplant. He was due to perform in a live concert later in August. While still at Cromwell Hospital, Nusrat died of a sudden cardiac arrest on Saturday, August 16, 1997, aged 48. His body was then transported back to Faisalabad, Pakistan where thousands of distraught people attended his funeral and burial procession.
(Text from Wiki)
Here are three videos of his music. Enjoy
My Thought Of The Day.
There are people in this world who believe in principles and theystrongly believe that others should accept what they believe because itall look so right for them. Actually these people are not principledthey are just control freaks. They don’t know what humanity truly meansand they lose their control of their on minds to stubborn principles.In politics the extreme liberals and conservatives are of this kind. Inreligion the fanatics are of this kind. There is one fact that is verysad, because of these freaks it is innocent lives that get lost. Ifthere is possibility why not the world unite and shut all these freaksinto some mental asylum. They are not a lot.
Just some thoughts, I thought of posting a poem… kinda backed off from posting it as when I read the poem it just did not added up to the original thought 
I have a lot to do today including attend a dinner. This is a very interesting dinner. When I was in India I was high school and my brother had a friend, he once invited me to his home as he came to know that I read a lot. A wall full of books that’s what I can say, his sister a house wife and have nothing to do at home so her husband who was away in another place brings her books. It is her collection. She never gave those books to anyone but look at me she said, okay you can have them. After school I left to another state for higher education. And when I came back those people were all gone. After more than 20 years reacently I found out, the lady and her husban with their children are not settled in Kansas. They invited me to dinner. She may really get scared I was so small and lean, now not so tall but from about 60lbs I have grown big to about 190lbs. My belly indeed is a scary thing.
The Greatest Lover.
Springtime was much more brutal than I thought. A contract canceled and megetting all sorts of issues from health to wealth. I have gonethrough these kinda times before so I am quite used to this. Oneearly morning I was standing outside having a smoke and I felt “Comeon this can’t happen again” then really felt sad and look up in thesky and told. “It is better that you created me not, than leavingme as a loser” I went back to bed without much thoughts and slept.I woke up with the news, the Green Card process which I thought willtake more than 2 and half years have become current, I went back thesame spot where I stood and spoke the words of desperation and saidwith a smile “Sorry I should not have despaired, I never will bedepressed again for what you did not gave and thank you very much”.Later that day I wrote something off my mind.
Hereis what it is.
TheGreatest Lover.
Sing again sing again oh wonderfulbird,
Sing in the tune of my heart where Ihold,
The deepest thoughts about loveacquired,
Where the memories of a sweet heart Icherish.
The trees you rest, Oh’ do they sing toyou back,
The wind that wobbles you in yourflight, did she sing too,
If so give them the tune in the rhythmof my heart,
Sing to them the tune you hear from myheart.
A tune in memories I adore,
A tune composed in the giggles of her,
A tune in the counter point of thelovely notes she whistled,
A tune that gathered me from ascattered lot,
And gave meanings to everything inpast, present,
And in future may come.
Fly as far away for your daily life,
I still will feed you in my gratitude,
Oh’ but when the light turn golden,
Sing to me again that lovely song,
As love I felt from her, in my mindwrote,
Words of love dipped in the twilightsof her day,
Leaving me to hear you, with justmemories,
Of a handful days that passed in whichshe wrote,
“The silhouette of yours in my soul Ialways will keep,
Even when dark days fill in my life Isure will not weep,
As with your love in the little time wespent you shown,
The worth of a lifetime, and gavehappiness of lifetimes,
And bright indeed will be my soul as itspreads,
My love for you in here and toeternity.”
It is her you feel O bird in the tuneyou hear,
So sing again in celebration of thehappiness she left,
As one of the greatest lover humanityever known.
(C) RIAZAHAMMED.COM
This is the video of a hindi song. This situation of this song is really sad. From the movie Muqaddar Ka Sikander which came out in the early 80s . The situation of this song is, the actor (Amitab Bachen) when he was young was a servant at the house of wealthy girl. They reall liked each other, but her wealthy father kicks him out of house on her birthday and he couldn’t give her the gift he bought for her as he was not allowed inside the house. On her birthday she sings a song.. “Oh’ my dear friend, without you, there is no life” As a young kid with his younger sister he ends up in the streets of Bombay. From the footpath he becomes a very rich man in Bombay. The wealthy man loses his wealth and dies and his daughter(the girls whom he liked) was left with nothing. He couldn’t find her at all. This song is towards the end of the movie when in a function his friend and his friend’s girl friend ask him to sing a song. He sings the same song. “Oh my dear friend, without you there is no life” his friends girlfriend gets stunned hearing the song. She is that girl. The movie got a whole different story line for which to save another friend and save the marriage of this girl Amitab ends up fighting a villan and dies. I loved this song performed by Kishore Kumar with beautiful lyrics. I will try to translate the Hindi lyrics to English with the help of some people who knows Hindi very well. Enjoy the song
A New Summer Pastime.
Summer is a season I hate. I love the freeze of the oldwinter lady. Summer slows me down. Well I really slowed down. You have seen thelesser number of posts. There is enough bad things happened to make medepressed and we are not much into a summer. I wish this season be over and Ican hide myself in a winter coat during my evening walks.
This poem .. Just read it .. I wrote it …. That’s all I cansay about it as it is really the reality I am facing.
ANew Summer Pastime.
With the break of the dark by the light started the day,
No matter how much might darkness shows,
Like a conquering army to all corners, rays of light filled,
The falling dew blessed the dried out earth,
The singing birds distracted none,
The blooming flowers attracted more than bees,
As empty minds filled with more than the warmth,
Of the clear and bright summer morn.
The winds woke up along with the warmth,
And danced on the lush green grass,
Then climbed on squirrels and went up the trees,
And danced again holding the hands of every leaf.
But not just the might of the light that broke the dark,
Not just the dark of the night that broke in the morn,
Oh’ the dark days of sadness and loneliness fell apart,
As sparkles from those eyes conquered his heart.
Mornings like these passed through minds,
And souls once in depression spent, danced with the wind,
Glory of an emotion in vows celebrated,
And dreams weaved in the darkest days of past,
In the light of love fulfilled as lovers stood hand in hand.
Oh’ this is not just another summer dance,
Fallen and forgotten along with season of fall,
It is the vow of mutual care and love celebrated,
Oh’ watching love indeed is the pleasure of summer fun.
And live in memories blank of a feeling unheard,
And vows untold.
The Spiritual Side Of Love.
Two incidents of life came to me one my own when someone asked me can someone fall in love over the internet. Yes I answered but I failed to explain how the spiritual part of love really works. I can only say how spiritually I love, I was not able to explain how to feel the spiritual part of love as I never felt it. Said that I met another girl who told me how she found love through internet, she said, I will go anywhere and do anything to be with him. Keeping both these things in mind I started writing and came out with the following.
Now about my life. —————————————-
Enjoy.
The Spiritual Side Of Love.
Seen the sunlight through the leaves,
Born in the warmth of the mid Spring caress,
Hundreds of flowers bloomed along, watched,
A wanderer who walked with no aim in mind.
Birds sat upside down on the trees in fear,
Then realized no harm from a way lost harmless man,
He is nothing more than a wild animal in those little eyes,
Then they all sang a tune from his empty mind came.
Oh where he came from he only knows,
What emptied his mind only the women he loved knows,
Where are they he himself know not,
Every step he laid, a step away from all he knows.
Follow me not he said to birds,
Forget me now he said to even dead rocks,
The aversion to all the earthly life bound his heart,
And to all he shut his mind yet another time.
Those hands raised not in prayers,
As he know all the prayers where already prayed,
All good a man can do already done,
Now all unfulfilled and he only can wander in detachment.
Merged into nature the world at him screamed,
Let the nature merge on to me he whispered,
Oh’ all the beauty of the nature into two small eyes merged,
And in front of him with all love life ever known, glittered.
Can two eyes fill in an empty mind?
But when into those eyes he looked he saw,
A soul filled like the core of the Earth,
Oh’ how wonderfully God created her for me, he said.
If the core of earth is filled with fire,
Her soul is filled with hope,
Her heart is the true symbol of love,
Every flicker of her eyes sprouted dreams of morrows.
All past days dissolved in the passion seen,
And as mist covered them both,
The world never will know what words were spoken,
But soon heard birds singing in love,
The fresh tunes in the summer warmth,
Leaving the wisdom all around,
That true love always be rewarded,
As the holiness of it is only understood,
And all material parts of life disappears.
When true loving hearts in spirit of love merges,
Oh’ no matter how far apart in material they are.
This poem was written in April 1999 to be given to my mom on mother’sday. Due to a love failure I did not released this poem. Two and halfyears later I recorded this in audio. And 3 years after that I gave thepoem to my mom. The friend/fan who had the recording, who also knowthat I am a big fan of A.R.Rahman added the audio. Special thanks tobig brother who kept, added music and gave it to me.
There are two versions of this poem the words are same, the background music are different.
The Warmth Of The Invisible Palms-With Vande Matharam Background
The Warmth Of The Invisible Palms-With Bombay Dreams Background.
Those who can’t follow my accent can read the words of the poem by visiting this link The Warmth Of The Invisible Palms-Text.
Blank Days
I don’t sleep most nights, I sleep during days. I love this life. Blank. Well later today there will be a poem in here.. more to post and comment later
Technorati Profile
More than a month passed since I posted anything here oranywhere. I was not lazy, I was busy. I moved from New York to Kansas.One of the most gruesome dive I ever did, it rained, snowed and the wind allstood between me and Kansas.I made it in the middle of the night. Where am I going to be next is a questionI don’t ask these days. Let life take me there.
Then in Kansas I got sick, ViralFever… damn it really sucks. Now I am getting better. There are lots of thingsI need to do. But there are certain things that paused me. The question is whysome things should be done lingers… it is always safe not to attempt somethingin which one failed many, many times.
As for myrelationship, the last love as I said ended. She is gone with the wind. No morecryptic phrases to crack. Language problems was the major problem I thought.But my last poem said it clearly that the difference created by two extremes ofreligion broke it up in the end. She was a fanatic Orthodox and I am a lenientliberal. It just did not added up in the end and the fight was very public wheredenials and curses were fired at each other. I ended up saying… “You lost me,the loss is yours”. She left in tears and I felt tears too. But what cannot beone should not attempted to be glued together.
Read this poem. Itwill tell you what I am going through now.
Flickers.
The triumph of a feeling in mind danced,
As spring somewhere in laziness slept,
The lovely golden delights of the freezing morning,
Oh’ deceiving they were but still erased the wintry gloom.
The magnificence of the sun, oh dragged around,
Failing to warmth the nature to bloom,
Reminded mind once more, the dynamics of life,
And step by step an eternal fear came close.
Oh’ is this another cycle of freeze,
Where life just to hopes and prayers shrinks,
And every event in life unfolds,
With no deeper meaning anyone can find.
And through days mind drag on and on,
And thought in the shadows of nights born
No light left footsteps in loveless thoughts,
But a hope flickered deep inside through smiles seen.
The skeptical mind cannot believe,
The trauma still felt for the love that left,
Emptiness like a parasite held on in stubbornness,
But that youthful smile plucked away the scars one by one.
The flicker spread through the mind and warmed,
Even the empty handed spring that lay tired,
Flowers in thousands and rains of blessings came,
Oh’ they only fueled the fires of love in the soul.
Even when heart in dreams filled,
But cannot find open doors for those dreams to share.
Those blue eyes filled with hopes and sanctity won,
And mend every corner of a broken heart.
A simple smile upon my face blossomed,
And that smile a soul filled with love said,
Let this spring make you the monument of happiness,
Let the joy of yours spread the warmth of love.
Once more to the days of confusion and sadness I looked,
Once more I smiled and said to them to remind,
My soul about the mirages I hunted and fought,
And make them the founding stones of my new found love.
A Heart Filled With Love
It is two years now after I started my Xanga. It started by saying welcome to my workshop. First comments by Maggie That honor goes to her. Thank you Maggie.
This is a poem written with a name “Heartless Day” haha look at the way it all came out. Some days back I wrote a poem and changed it’s ending taking off two lines. I added those lines in this poem….LOL… I am not going to say where. The idea is simple… 20 years from now on this date what will I feel about what happened in the last couple of days. That’s this poem..
A Heart Filled With Love
Lovely sunshine up in the east brewed,
From a million colors took the best of rays seen,
And fast came the morning flooding this part of Earth.
In the triumph of spring the sun slowly moved,
Even the forgetful squirrel knows spring have arrived,
But all seeing the remnants of the winter still perplexed,
The awe of spring only in depths sprouting.
With cloudy minds people around the streets wandered,
Loving eyes and loved smiles, jealous minds and betrayed souls,
Oh’ all walked by as part of this moment of time.
Up in the air as part of the illusion called sky,
Clouds punched each other for some unknown territory,
Some fell apart and drizzled in the afternoon hours.
Though cold, Oh’ how wonderful it felt,
When rain caressed through face once more.
The evening went away colorless behind the clouds,
A sensual touch given by the gypsy wind,
Once more reminded of some lost love,
This day counted twenty years from the day we left,
Ah’ a bout of pain squeezed a lonely heart,
I still feel the love as the same in the day we left,
On a day when reality that ugly monster caught me one more time,
When emotions and passions left for belief and faith,
With a smile, a lot of love on my recliner I sat,
Knowing I still have a heart filled with love, only for her.
Angelina
This is a day I wanted to sleep all day. Even after nearly 6 hours of sleep I still feel sleepy. Daaang. What is going on with me? Well in the end I figured out, I must eat to keep my body up…hehehehe. Totally forgot to eat anything A bag of popcorn did the trick. Now I am up and running,(not literally running). How can someone forget to eat anything all day.. The reason.. read below..
This is her nickname, she called it herself. So with all those thoughts when the tiredness left, I wrote.
Have a great evening everyone.
Angelina.
Unleashed darkness erasing the colors of the fall,
The winter frost danced through the horizon,
Like a wild Angel in her fury upon the sinful,
Dark clouds like feathery wings covered the sun,
And ice and snow flown like her wrath filled spit.
Though the sun blazed at the time of her rest,
Though no warmth felt, the sun still left little rainbows,
From the hanging icicles left by the blizzard storm,
Her breath filled air with freeze,
And the wind with vengeance blown,
Oh’ the winter season can freeze even minds.
But there is beauty in even the monstrous cold,
The beauty of the falling snow,
The touch of the flying flurry upon ones nose,
The whiteness spread as a blessing for the eyes,
And even the mind’s eyes opened to see the beauty of white.
Winter is the season when unpleasantness out show,
Every beauty nature all around can spread,
But when the golden sun sets around the mountain west,
The pleasant touch of a beauty in mind felt,
Oh’ she will be the gathering of all pleasantness,
Even the winter Angels cannot compete and out show.
Every step of her melted the winter freeze,
She has neither wings nor fires of a blazing star,
Her perfected soul melts every flaws of her own,
Greenery around the nature spread,
When through her green eyes she looked,
The waiting seeds sprouted in haste,
To get a glimpse of her angelic glow,
The fury of the wind upon the touch of her skin faded,
And became a smooth wave of air upon flown,
Birds of all colors singing in high and low notes.
Oh’ my words speak about arrival of spring you thought?
Naa… Those words to my mind came,
When Angelina became the never ending spring of my life.