As a part of its series of events highlighting the cultural heritage of
Pakistan, the Embassy held an evening of Qawwali, ‘Sufi devotional
Music’ at the Embassy on Friday, March 17, 2006. Renowned Pakistani
Qawwal, Ustad Fareed Ayaz and his group gave an impressive performance
of Qawwali and recited verses/poetry of Bulley Shah, Mir, Sauda, Jigar,
Amir Khusro and Roomi, to the accompaniment of classical music.
At the outset, Ustad Fareed explained that Pakistan has
“a rich folk and classical music culture, in a variety of languages.”
In the tradition of ‘Sama’ or Qawwali, the focus of the performance
was the celebration of “Unity of Being’. The rich mix of poetic
content with classical rags was deeply appreciated by the audience.
Officials of the State Department, Department of Defense,
and other US government departments, and officials from the World Bank.
IMF, and Congressional staff, were invited to attend the event. A large
number of Pakistani-American community also participated in the event.
The event was covered by both print and electronic media.
