Kashmir’s folk music won’t fade away till Sufi mehfils continue. Learning art is an unending ordeal: Popular folk singer Abdul Rashid Hafiz
By Nazir Ganie
Srinagar- Legendary folk singer, Abdul Rashid Hafiz Tuesday said that “Kalam is paramount” with the rich musical mixture and use of traditional folk instruments and every day was a music day for the performing artists of the Kashmir region.
“For us Kalam (poetry) is paramount. We choose the words very carefully. It shouldn’t be anything which is done for the sake of doing the song,” award-winning folk singer, Abdul Rashid Hafiz, told Kashmir Observer. Hafiz, who has been instrumental in the popularising folk genre of music in Kashmir, among youngsters, has his unique style of singing.
“I have no words to express my gratitude to people who have been showering their love to me and my art for years now,” Hafiz said. “There are artists who are more technically sound…… I am not at all satisfied with my singing. It is just Allah’s will that I am able to do this kind of work in my area of interest,” he added.
Hafiz’s journey in music is an interesting story in itself. Hailing from an artisan family in the Downtown area of the summer capital, Srinagar, he refused to be just another skilled labourer.
“Music was my calling and I thank the Almighty for bestowing me with what I have achieved,” he said.
Notably, Chakri, is one of the most popular types of traditional music played in Jammu & Kashmir, especially in the Kashmir region and Chenab belts. Chakri is a responsorial song form with instrumental parts, and it is played with instruments including harmonium, Rabab, Kashir sarangi, nout, tumbaknaer and the chimta. Historians and art critics argue that Chakri was also used to tell stories like fairy tales or famous love stories such as Yousuf-Zulaikha, Laila-Majnun, etc. Chakri is also an important part of Henna night (Ma’enzi raat) during weddings in the Kashmir region. Commenting on the current status of folk music in Kashmir, Hafiz said that “Folk won’t fade away till Sufi mehfils continue in the nook and corner of our region,” he said. “Learning art is an unending ordeal. For this youngsters have to come forward and get into this.”
Recalling his initial learning days over half a century ago, young Abdul Rashid Hafiz wanted to become a Sufiyana singer and the first resistance came from his father – a Namda weaver with a meagre income. He recalls his teenage days when he was listening to famous Sufi singer Ghulam Ahmad Sofi (Amme Sofi).
“It was during that night I decided to become a singer. I continued and I learned from various Ustads around,” recalled Hafiz. “All I ever wanted to focus on was a Sufi Kalam (mystic poetry). Till the time we continue singing in Sufi Mehfils and not restricting ourselves to the government functions only, Chakri isn’t going to fade away in Kashmir,” he opined.
In his almost five-decade-long singing career, Hafiz has received many awards and recognitions. The awards include Medical Forum Award (1998), Bakshi Memorial Award (2007), Ahad Zargar Award (2008) Raj Begum Award, Ghulam Ahmad Sofi Award, State Award (2014) and State Awards in Assam, Mumbai, Shillong, Madras, Jammu and Kashmir. He has also received Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2014) by the President of India and lately, he has also been awarded Harmony India Award.
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