Music in South Asia

Pakistan

In this predominantly Muslim land, many elements of Islamic fundamentalism would like to dispose of music entirely. But music is still in the streets everywhere.

A lot of it comes from India’s humongous film industry, though Pakistan has some songs coming from its own film industry as well. One famous female singer in the past was Noor Jahan. Small folk ensembles are all over the country, but perhaps the ambassador of Pakistani music was Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who passed away in 1997. He was a master of qawwali music, an energetic, passionate, ecstatic experience of mystic sayings and love songs. It is often performed by large singing groups of men to the accompaniment of tabla, harmonium and hand claps.

Qawwali is most popular in the Punjab section of Pakistan and is also common in north India. Most qawwali singers are followers of Sufism, a form of Islamic mysticism which aims for unity with Allah and the saints who followed him. Sufis may be best known the world over as Turkey’s whirling dervishes. Today, a popular qawwali group is Rizman-Muazzam Qawwali. Sufism even influences rock musicians from Pakistan. The group Junoon often sings -- or wails -- lyrics from Sufi poets and mystics to a backdrop of guitars and drums.

Use the menu to the left to learn more about
music in other South Asia countries.