Thousands came out to say farewell to Amjad Sabri. The fanatics who want to eradicate the culture of our land should know that these roots are very deep.

On June 23, in a shameful act, on June 23 gunmen shot dead 45 yeard old Pakistani Qawwal Musician survived by his wife and five children

Thousands of fans, supporters and friends attended the funeral prayers of Amjad Sabri, the famed Qawwal who was shot dead in broad daylight in Liaquatabad in Karachi on June 23. Sabri was laid to rest in the Paposhnagar Graveyard, next to his father, qawwali maestro Ghulam Farid Sabri the day after.

His namaz-i-janaza was held after Zuhr prayers at Furqania Masjid in Liaquatabad, which is also where the renowned singer lived. Tearful mourners showered rose petals over an ambulance carrying the coffin of Sabri to his residence.

It takes a Sufi to go looking for trouble, irreverently turning his face away from the reigning gods, clerics and rituals.

Last week, terrorists gunned down qawwal Amjad Sabri in Karachi. The Sabri family is among the most widely recognised qawwali clans of the subcontinent, with a tradition spanning Punjab, Gwalior and later Pakistan. It is reported that the assassination was retribution for allegedly `blaspheming' at a concert.

But the fact is that the Sufi tradition of mysticism and asceticism, and its musical expression through Qawwali, has always upset  those who are intolerant. There have been several attacks on Sufi shrines in Pakistan in recent years. The reason is not hard to find ­ unlike the grey jihadists' worldview, the Sufi tradition is about divinity represented in music, poetry and dance, and attained through the meditative creation of Sama.

The most popular Qawwalis sung in India, many of them traced to the great Amir Khusro, were written not just in Persian (“Man kunto maula“) but also in Hindavi (old Hindi), Braj Bhasha and even Punjabi. “Aaj rang hai“, “Chhap tilak sab chheeni“ and “Amma more baba ko bhejo“ likely come from the folk traditions of India. Khusro even mixed the languages in a single composition like he did with “Zehaale-e-Miskin“, interspersing Persian verses with Braj Bhasha. Qawwali also absorbed Hindu influences ­ and in turn affected them too ­ and incorporated various elements of the north Indian musical traditions.

Thousands came out to say farewell to Amjad Sabri. The fanatics who want to eradicate the culture of our land should know that these roots are very deep.

Thousands came out to say farewell to Amjad Sabri. The fanatics who want to eradicate the culture of our land should know that these roots are very deep.

Thousands came out to say farewell to Amjad Sabri. The fanatics who want to eradicate the culture of our land should know that these roots are very deep.

Thousands came out to say farewell to Amjad Sabri. The fanatics who want to eradicate the culture of our land should know that these roots are very deep.

Thousands came out to say farewell to Amjad Sabri. The fanatics who want to eradicate the culture of our land should know that these roots are very deep.

Thousands came out to say farewell to Amjad Sabri. The fanatics who want to eradicate the culture of our land should know that these roots are very deep.