One of the biggest names in the history of music,
indeed, hailed from Pakistan. Even decades after his demise, the world
continues to listen to his music, cherish it, and wish that he was still alive.
Yes, we’re talking about the legend, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Even though Ustad Nusrat is somewhat worshiped in the
sub-continent, there aren’t many people who know about how Nusrat Fateh Ali
Khan became Ustad Nusrat. How he went from being an ordinary 16-year-old Qawwal
to the greatest who ever was. Let us shed some light on Ustad Nusrat’s life,
success, dreams, and his demise.
EARLY LIFE AND CHILDHOOD OF USTAD
NUSRAT FATEH ALI KHAN
Ustad Nusrat hailed from Hazara, Faisalabad. His family had
migrated to Pakistan from Jalandhar, in India, after the partition of 1947. Ustad
Nusrat’s father himself was a qawwal, who knew many instruments. The family
already had a rich legacy in Qawwali, with his uncle Ustad Mubarik Ali Khan and
Salamat Ali Khan already somewhat famed.
Ustad Nusrat’s father never wanted him to become a qawwal. His
father wanted him to pursue engineering or medicine, to be something different
from the rest. However, little did he know that Ustad Nusrat was destined for
greatness, something no singer/qawwal/musician in the sub-continent had or will
ever achieve.
After his father passed away in 1964, a
16-year-old Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan dreamed that his father wanted him to sing
for the family’s name. The first public performance Ustad Nusrat gave was on
his father’s ‘chaaleeswaan (40 days to death)’. The rest, we
all know is history.
THE BEGINNING OF HIS CAREER – THE ROAD
TO GREATNESS
Ustad Nusrat joined the family qawwal set up with his uncles and
he was what we call a prodigy. Maturing as a performer, the creativity and flow
of his voice overpowered all the other qawwals in the party. Upon the death of
his uncle Mubarak Ali Khan, he officially became the leader of the clan and
named his party as ‘Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan And Party’.
Becoming the leader of the party meant becoming the leader of the
family. His first performance was Radio Pakistan’s annual music festival called
Jashn-e-Baharan. His versatility of languages and his amazing music sense blew
the audience, and everybody knew, a star was on the rise.
Soon, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan became the center of attention. His
stamina, his voice, his charm, his music – everything just fit perfectly. After
conquering Pakistan, it was the international audience that started worshiping
Ustad Nusrat’s magnificence. It was not long before his fame spread beyond
Pakistan and Khan performed at the World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD)
festival in London in 1985. Performing with artists like Jeff Buckley, Michael
Brook, and Peter Gabriel made him stand out and become the face of the
sub-continent in world music.
PERSONAL LIFE AND THE DEATH OF A LEGEND
Ustad Nusrat was known to be an absolute romantic. He married his
first cousin, Naheed Nusrat, the daughter of his uncle Ustad Salamat Ali Khan.
Naheed partnered Ustad Nusrat through all the fame and glory that came their
way. The couple had a daughter, named Nida.
However, it wasn’t long before Ustad Nusrat’s status of being a
living legend faded. In 1997, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan passed away. It was
reported that he died due to kidney and liver failure while being treated in
London. On August 16th, 1997, he faced a fatal heart-attack which he could not
survive and died at the meager age of 48.
