Aziz Mian Qawwal (Urdu: عزیز میاں قوال) (17 April 1942 – 6 December 2000) was a Pakistani traditional qawwal famous for singing ghazals in his own style of qawwali and is considered one of the greatest qawwals in South Asia.[2][3][4] He holds the record for singing the longest commercially released qawwali, Hashr Ke Roz Yeh Poochhunga, which runs slightly over 115 minutes.[4] Aziz is known by sobriquets :"Shahenshah-e-Qawwali" (King of Qawwali), "Fauji Qawwal"(Military Singer),[5] since his early performances were often in army barracks, and "the Nietzschean Qawwal".[6]
Early life and background
Aziz Mian was born as Abdul Aziz (Urdu: عبد العزیز) in Delhi, British India.[4] The exclamation Mian, which he often used in his qawwalis, became part of his stage name. He began to introduce himself as Aziz Mian Meeruthi. The word Meeruthi refers to Meerut, a city in northern India, from where he migrated to Pakistan in 1947.
Aziz Mian was one of the non-traditional Pakistani Qawwals. His voice was raspy and powerful. Aziz Mian was the only prominent qawwal to write his own lyrics (though, like others, he also performed songs written by other poets).[4] Aziz Mian was a contemporary and often a competitor of the Sabri Brothers.
He first began performing at private gatherings. However, his official‘start' came in 1966, when he performed in front of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The Shah of Iran was so moved by his performance that he gave Aziz Mian a gold medal. From this moment on, Aziz Mian gained popularity and started releasing albums. In addition to singing Qawwalis, he was also an expert at singing ghazals. He became a noted member of the qawwal community due to his unique and crisp voice.[7] In the early days of his career, he was nicknamed Fauji Qawwal[8] (Urdu: فوجی قوال) (meaning "Military Qawwal") because most of his early stage-performances were in military barracks for the army personnel. He was known for a "more recitative, more dramatic diction" and was inclined toward qawwali's religious rather than entertainment qualities,[9] though he also enjoyed success in more ashiqana sufi qawwalis.
He was fond of discussing religious and Sufi paradoxes in his qawwalis. He directly addressed Allah and complained about the misery of man (the greatest creation of the Almighty). In addition to his own poetry, Aziz Mian performed poetry by Allama Iqbal, and a number of contemporary Urdu poets, including Qamar Jalalvi, Jigar Moradabadi, Tabish KanpuriS M Sadiq, Saifuddin Saif and Qateel Shifai.[4]
Death
Aziz Mian died from complications of hepatitis in Tehran, Iran, on 6 December 2000.[1] He was in Iran at the invitation of the Government of Iran, to perform on the occasion of Imam Ali's death anniversary; that was his final performance. In that show, all his fans, including himself, are crying; that is the reason Aziz can't continue singing.[10] He is buried in Multan, on the brink of Nau Bahar Nehar[Canal].[1] His death anniversary (Urs) is celebrated every year on the first Thursday of May. The Urs celebrations commence with the 'Ghusal' ceremony conducted by Mian Saheb's son Shibli Aziz and Rasm e Sandal of Baba Nadir Hussain, famously known as 'Tootan Waali Sarkar,' who is Peer O Murshid (Spiritual Master) of Aziz Mian. The Urs celebrations continue for three days, starting with 'Ghusal' followed by 'Chadar Poshi' and 'Mehfil e Samaa' (Urdu: Mehfil-e-Samaa) of Qawwali ('samaa' means the listening audience in Urdu and Arabic). Around seven to eight qawwal groups perform. The celebration terminates after the last ritual of 'Qul'. The Urs (death anniversary) celebration are organized by Shibli Aziz Mian, who is more interested in mysticism and Sufi traditions. He is promoting and propagating this spiritual heritage of his father and have quite a number of disciples (mureeds) and followers.
Family
Aziz Mian had 12 children. And had nine sons: Amir Khusro, Shibli, Junaid, Tabreiz, Imran, Naeem, Buali,Shahbaz Ali,and Farhan, etc. His son Shibli is not a qawwal but his successor in Sufism, while all other sons have followed his footsteps in Qawwali.[11] They are very similar in style to Aziz Mian himself, and like other sons of famous qawwals (Amjad Sabri, for example, or Waheed and Naveed Chishti), they perform many of their father's hits. Tabrez is however, considered to be the closest to his father's style. His looks and his style are a mirror image of his father. Tabrez also toured North America as a tribute to Aziz Mian Qawwal.
Legacy
Aziz Mian Qawwal is considered to be one of the influential Sufi Qawwali singers of Pakistan[7][4]
His famous Qawwali Main Sharabi was featured in Indian movie Cocktail and was sung by his son Imran Aziz Mian
A bridge was named after Aziz Mian as Aziz Mian Bridge near his shrine in Multan.
Awards and recognition
His First Tour Was Of Iran During 1966, Where he performed his first international performance before shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, he was awarded a Gold Medal after the performance.[7]
Aziz Mian Qawwal received a worldwide recognition and fame with his Masterworks and earned the title of One of the Greatest Qawwals, Some of his works include –
Teri Soorat Nigahon Mein Phirti Rahe / Main Sharabi Main Sharabi
