(The contribution of Shah Latif Bhitai to music can be seen in the context of the relationship between a high classical tradition and its regional sources)
The recently concluded urs of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai at Bhit Shah was a reminder of the central role that music plays at such congregations. In the case of Shah Latif it should come as no surprise because he codified the system of music that must have been sung or played during his lifetime.
One of the greatest patrons of music in South Asia has been the sufis. Certain sufi orders were more indulgent towards music than the others, while some were antithetical to it. But by and large the Chishtis, Qadris and the Qalandaris were more favourably disposed towards it. Actually it is a little hazardous to subsume under broad categorisation the question of acceptance and patronage of music, for within the sufi orders many variations and dimensions existed. The shrines of many sufis have become the centre point of musical activity, labelled generically as 'sama', with the weekly and yearly moots attracting musicians from far and wide, who also owe a great allegiance to their sufi saints. Two types of musical activity takes place on the shrine of Shah Latif during the days of the urs. Dressed in black the 'waee' is sung on the shrine by traditional 'waee' singers in the style said to have continued since the days of the Shah but concerts in the outer premises of the shrine are organised where the singers and dancers from all parts of Sindh perform mostly in various forms of folk music.
Shah Latif lived in the era when Muhammed Shah was the ruler in Delhi. The central empire in Delhi had started to disintegrate and many experiments were being made in music. Kheyal was gradually becoming a more acceptable form of music than dhrupad. Some of the great musicians sensing the decline had started to move away from Delhi seeking patronage in smaller states. The overstated dhrupad was probably no longer the most representative form of music in an age that saw destruction and undoing of the very social and philosophical fabric on which rested the pillars of the medieval state. The form that resonated in the imperial palaces only echoing the glory and heroism of the times were being replaced by a more flexible style of singing. An epical sensibility was gradually giving way to a romantic vision of life.
At the same time Shah Latif played a major role in the cross fertilization that was taking place in his region. He went along with it, codified the raags and classified the musical system in an attempt to bring the two to some meeting point.
In all he selected thirty six raginis. Thirty were earmarked for the exclusive singing of Shah's own poetry while six were used for singing other compositions. The raags of classical music which are mentioned in his works are Kalyan, Khambhat, Siri, Suhni, Sarang, Kedara, Desi, Baruva Hindi, Sorath, Baruva Sindhi, Ramkali, Bilawal, Asa, Dhanasari, Purbi, Kamod, Yaman, Husaini and Basant.
Shah's raags indicate that he retained Kalyan, Khambhat and Bilawal in their shudh (original) state because these constituted the three basic thaats to which also belong some other melodies of the group. The fourteen other melodies of the classical tradition were retained in the form in which they were being sung by the people. The functional compositions of each of these melodies do not necessarily conform exactly to their classical prototypes. The following seventeen were selected from Sindhi folk music Samundi, Abri, Madhoor, Kohiyaree, Rana, Khahoree, Rip, Lilan, Dahar, Kapaitee, Pirbhati, Ghatu, Seenh Kadaro, Marui, Dhol Maru, Hir and Karayal.
One wonders what kind of music was being sung and played in Punjab at the same time. It is said that the dominant form of music in the Punjab till the middle of the 19th c
entury was the dhrupad. And in the later part of the century perhaps a gradual change in taste started to accommodate kheyal. It was only in the 20th century that kheyal was finally accepted as the dominant form of singing in the high classical tradition.
It should not be forgotten that the weakening of the Central Empire in Delhi very badly affected the Punjab. All the armies from the North and North West passed through Punjab to raid and conquer Delhi. Punjabi poetry of Bullah Shah and Waris Shah give strong evidence of the state of destruction, pillage, insecurity, breakdown of the order in society that the raids of Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah Abdali had caused.
There seems to be less evidence of change in music of the times, and if there was any change it has not been recorded. Or perhaps the rule of Ranjit Singh in the first half of the 19th century recreated some semblance of stability and order.
Or that the Punjab was too close to Delhi physically to forge its own identity, rather its identity flowed into the mainstream that made up the identity of the central court.
This may not have been the case with places that were farther away from the centre of power. The new music tradition founded by Shah Latif had tremendous influence on the development of musical taste in Sindh. Many classical melodies became popular throughout the province and many folk melodies which originally had local status and significance gained wide popularity and came to be sung in areas outside the province.
The contribution of Shah Latif Bhitai to music can be seen in the context of the relationship between a high classical tradition and its regional sources. His was an attempt at codifying a system of music that was more specific to the region.
The high classical tradition being the most standardised version of our musical system is seen in some quarters to have stifled the growth of other influences more rooted in the various regions of South Asia. To many the Sindhi sensibility is best represented in the folk tradition when rendered in its most raw form. This derives its strength from the argument that the classical tradition associated with the elite is so over wrought and stylised that it smothers the genuine and most authentic expression of the common man.
The recently concluded urs of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai at Bhit Shah was a reminder of the central role that music plays at such congregations. In the case of Shah Latif it should come as no surprise because he codified the system of music that must have been sung or played during his lifetime.
One of the greatest patrons of music in South Asia has been the sufis. Certain sufi orders were more indulgent towards music than the others, while some were antithetical to it. But by and large the Chishtis, Qadris and the Qalandaris were more favourably disposed towards it. Actually it is a little hazardous to subsume under broad categorisation the question of acceptance and patronage of music, for within the sufi orders many variations and dimensions existed. The shrines of many sufis have become the centre point of musical activity, labelled generically as 'sama', with the weekly and yearly moots attracting musicians from far and wide, who also owe a great allegiance to their sufi saints. Two types of musical activity takes place on the shrine of Shah Latif during the days of the urs. Dressed in black the 'waee' is sung on the shrine by traditional 'waee' singers in the style said to have continued since the days of the Shah but concerts in the outer premises of the shrine are organised where the singers and dancers from all parts of Sindh perform mostly in various forms of folk music.
Shah Latif lived in the era when Muhammed Shah was the ruler in Delhi. The central empire in Delhi had started to disintegrate and many experiments were being made in music. Kheyal was gradually becoming a more acceptable form of music than dhrupad. Some of the great musicians sensing the decline had started to move away from Delhi seeking patronage in smaller states. The overstated dhrupad was probably no longer the most representative form of music in an age that saw destruction and undoing of the very social and philosophical fabric on which rested the pillars of the medieval state. The form that resonated in the imperial palaces only echoing the glory and heroism of the times were being replaced by a more flexible style of singing. An epical sensibility was gradually giving way to a romantic vision of life.
At the same time Shah Latif played a major role in the cross fertilization that was taking place in his region. He went along with it, codified the raags and classified the musical system in an attempt to bring the two to some meeting point.
In all he selected thirty six raginis. Thirty were earmarked for the exclusive singing of Shah's own poetry while six were used for singing other compositions. The raags of classical music which are mentioned in his works are Kalyan, Khambhat, Siri, Suhni, Sarang, Kedara, Desi, Baruva Hindi, Sorath, Baruva Sindhi, Ramkali, Bilawal, Asa, Dhanasari, Purbi, Kamod, Yaman, Husaini and Basant.
Shah's raags indicate that he retained Kalyan, Khambhat and Bilawal in their shudh (original) state because these constituted the three basic thaats to which also belong some other melodies of the group. The fourteen other melodies of the classical tradition were retained in the form in which they were being sung by the people. The functional compositions of each of these melodies do not necessarily conform exactly to their classical prototypes. The following seventeen were selected from Sindhi folk music Samundi, Abri, Madhoor, Kohiyaree, Rana, Khahoree, Rip, Lilan, Dahar, Kapaitee, Pirbhati, Ghatu, Seenh Kadaro, Marui, Dhol Maru, Hir and Karayal.
One wonders what kind of music was being sung and played in Punjab at the same time. It is said that the dominant form of music in the Punjab till the middle of the 19th c
entury was the dhrupad. And in the later part of the century perhaps a gradual change in taste started to accommodate kheyal. It was only in the 20th century that kheyal was finally accepted as the dominant form of singing in the high classical tradition.It should not be forgotten that the weakening of the Central Empire in Delhi very badly affected the Punjab. All the armies from the North and North West passed through Punjab to raid and conquer Delhi. Punjabi poetry of Bullah Shah and Waris Shah give strong evidence of the state of destruction, pillage, insecurity, breakdown of the order in society that the raids of Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah Abdali had caused.
There seems to be less evidence of change in music of the times, and if there was any change it has not been recorded. Or perhaps the rule of Ranjit Singh in the first half of the 19th century recreated some semblance of stability and order.
Or that the Punjab was too close to Delhi physically to forge its own identity, rather its identity flowed into the mainstream that made up the identity of the central court.
This may not have been the case with places that were farther away from the centre of power. The new music tradition founded by Shah Latif had tremendous influence on the development of musical taste in Sindh. Many classical melodies became popular throughout the province and many folk melodies which originally had local status and significance gained wide popularity and came to be sung in areas outside the province.
The contribution of Shah Latif Bhitai to music can be seen in the context of the relationship between a high classical tradition and its regional sources. His was an attempt at codifying a system of music that was more specific to the region.
The high classical tradition being the most standardised version of our musical system is seen in some quarters to have stifled the growth of other influences more rooted in the various regions of South Asia. To many the Sindhi sensibility is best represented in the folk tradition when rendered in its most raw form. This derives its strength from the argument that the classical tradition associated with the elite is so over wrought and stylised that it smothers the genuine and most authentic expression of the common man.
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