Who is Ustad Sher Ali Mehr Ali?
Ustad Sher Ali Mehr Ali is a South Asian classical music artist known for Qawwal Bacha / Delhi, Qawwali, Vocal. Stream 4 recordings on Saarey Music.
Ustad Sher Ali Khan and Ustad Mehr Ali Khan are two of the most well-known artists in Urdu qawwali. The brothers, who have been professionally trained by renowned Ustads, have been performing across the world and at present have a massive fan following.
Mehr and Sher Ali were born in the Pakistani border-town of Kasur in the early 1950s and received their earlier training in classical music from their father who was a court classical singer at the small Sikh principality of Patiala (now in India). Their father then became the disciple of Fateh Ali Khan, the father of the famous Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and young Sher Ali was the student of Bakhshi Salamat Ali Qawwal. Mehr Ali and Sher Ali thus acknowledge that the family of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is their "Ustad Gharana" or "Teacher House", a term imbued with veneration among musician circles in Pakistan and North India. Mehr Ali was taught by Muhammad Ali Fareedi, an ordained Sufi qawwal of the shrine of the 13th century Sufi, Baba Farid.
Mehr Ali was thus trained in Sufi philosophy, poetry, texts, and rituals. All qawwals must have a deep knowledge of Sufi poetic texts. In practice, this often means sacrificing musical quality to retain the purity of the text.
Mehr and Sher are qawwals who have achieved the rare combination of both musical quality and authentic text rendition: Sher is known for his ability to understand the importance of rhythm (lai-Kari) and render classical modes in a strong voice, while Mehr's heart-rending high-pitched voice strikes the heart (Zarb-ul-qalb) when the poetry contains words of entreaty or sorrow.
The group feels that their music brings harmony and peace to the soul and projects the message of love and unity for all. "We sometimes go into a trance during our performance, so moved are we by the text and music," says Mehr Ali. They believe that qawwali goes beyond the limitations of orthodox religion and is a universal invitation to all living beings to share in the feelings of the powerful emotion of pure love, the pain of separation, and the joy of union.
