Ata Farid Bhag
(1948 – ?)
Ata Farid Bhag (1948-) has been an important vocalist of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s qawwal Party. His parents migrated from a village Nag Pur district Hisaal near New Delhi in India. The name of his grandfather was Faiz Ahmad and father’s name was Muhammad Hayat, both were qawwals. After partition they migrated to pakpattan where Ata Farid was born. He got training from his father and uncles Ustad Niaz Ali Khan and Ustad Inayat Ali Khan. Later on, he went to faisalabd and became the pupil of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He initially worked with Peeru Qawwal and then with Mian Dad, and later with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. After the death of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, he made his own party with Kale Khan. Due to his association and work experience with great qawwals of his time, Ata Farid is undoubtedly a qawwal with a huge repertoire of kalams and stylistic features. His son Kale Khan (1984-) has released an album and is following the footsteps of his father.