Right in the middle of our telephonic interview, Abida Parveen – the uncrowned queen of Sufi music sweetly asks, “How do you think I am answering? Am I doing alright?” I am simply taken aback by her humility and mumble something about being honored to be having this opportunity to interview her. Even thousands of miles away – she is in Islamabad, I am in Sharjah- one can easily sense that her endearing humility, charming simplicity and gentle sensitivity are for real. They are not some gimmicky put-on acts. At times I have difficulty fathoming her chaste Urdu but there is no difficulty in making my final judgment on her. She is what she is – a class act!

Here are the snippets.

On Her Childhood and Early Musical Training:

My father Ustad Ghulam Haider was a very good singer and he used to run a small school for music in Larkhana – my hometown in Pakistan’s Sindh province. There, he used to teach classical music and also, the music from the Dargaahs to children. So musical was the whole atmosphere that I imbibed music naturally, without any push from anyone.

On Sufi Music:

Sufi music is based on deep spiritualism. It’s a music created by saints and is the mother of classical music. The purpose of music is not only entertainment – that is temporary. In the larger picture, music was created to describe good and Godly things in a good and melodious manner. It is a medium to extend the chain of humanity.

In classical music, the singer repeats the same line with different variations in a Khayaal. What is that? It is nothing but a manner of a passionate prayer – a cry of pain, an attempt to call the God in different ways. The way in which Sufi saints have created tunes is simply marvelous. They have brought out the exact expression of the words through their musical compositions. That intensity of emotions is so strong that it is bound to touch the listener’s heart. That’s why that music has survived for centuries and will always continue doing so.

The music of Sufi saints is immortal. Sufi saint Hazrat Amir Khusro invented so many raags like Yaman. Even instruments like sitar and tabla were his creations. Recently I have finished a project of recording another Sufi saint Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai’s writings.

On other musical genres:

Whether it is a Geet, Ghazal, Thumri or Kaafi, I have never taken any musical genre lightly. The artist should never think that he or she is perfect. Only God is perfect. I have strived hard to bring that requisite style and expression in each of my musical offering.

On her electric movements while singing:

God has given the gift of music to man and He is the one who makes all these things happen. Everything simply gels together – your voice, your mind, your heart and your body. It’s a trans-like state when neither the singer nor the audience really know what they are doing except feeling that great divine existence within them. The singer then just becomes a medium for distributing God’s light to people. It’s a miraculous state when the God makes you come face to face with your inner self.  

On the new experiments in today’s music:

As the times change, new experiments are bound to take place in any field and music is no exception. For me, spiritual music is the real music; the rest is just transient. The real has to be there, otherwise where would the copies go? The new experiments might succeed for a while but they will never take place of spiritual music. After all, what could be greater than the thing that gives you the opportunity to be close to the Supreme Being?

On her experiences with Indian artistes:

Recently I had gone to India to record an album – “Faiz by Abida”. I was recording in one of the rooms in Western In-door studio and when I knew that Lataji (Lata Mangeshkar) was also recording in another room, I went to meet her. Once Didi knew about my presence, she brought her entire family to visit me. She sat for long hours chatting with me on various topics and when somebody asked how a great singer like her was praising a Pakistani singer like me, she just said, “The real gold always shines!” It was a touching compliment from such a legendary artist.

Similarly in various functions in India and Pakistan, I have met famous artists like Rekha, Gulzar and Vinod Khanna and have been surprised to know how they appreciate my music.

On another Sufi music great- Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan:

He was such a fabulous artiste. We shared the same stage on many occasions and they all were precious moments. He was one of the few Indo- Pak artistes who knew exactly how to sing to a mehfil. How to sing ghazal, qawwali, Kaafi or sargam on stage in presence of thousands in an arresting manner so that every one in the audience would get to understand the nuances is not an easy art but he was a master of it.

On taking up film music:

The offers are aplenty – both from India as well as from Pakistan. But still I am not sure. After walking this different musical path for so many years, I have to be really choosy about picking the right type of songs. When an album like “Faiz by Abida” reaches world music charts, I feel that people have already accepted what I am doing in my own way.

On her US concerts:

My concerts in US have been well-appreciated and even, reputed news- papers like New York Times and Los Angeles Times carried articles on them. In one of the recent concerts in Central Square, people were literally falling off in a trans-like state, prompting the police to wonder what exactly I was singing!