Bakhshi Khan

“Bakhshi Salamat Qawwal” was the name adopted by a party of Qawwals comprising the three brothers Ustad Bakhshi Khan (1927-1994), Ustad Salamat Khan (1931-1982) and Mubarak Ali Khan (1929-1995). They were the sons of Roorhay Khan, who was the first Qawwal in his family. Ustad Roorhay Khan’s father Maulvi Wazir Ali was not a musician, he was a cleric who managed a mosque in the small village of Khera near Jalandher. Ustad Roorhay Khan had a passion for music and learnt to play a number of instruments, especially the Sarangi and the Dilruba before shifting to Qawwali and becoming a student of Ustad Maula Bux Khan, the grandfather of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He was unique amongst his contemporaries in that he was the first Qawwal to accompany himself on the Dilruba as he sang. His forte was singing Punjabi and Seraiki Kafis in the Do-aba style, inspired by his love and devotion towards Pir Meeran Shah, a local Sufi. Bakhshi Khan began his musical career accompanying his cousins Ustad Karam Din Khan and Chajjoo Khan, before becoming a student of Ustad Maula Bux Khan like his father. Ustad Salamat Khan and Mubarak Ali became shagirds of Ustad Fateh Ali Mubarak Ali Khan. Ustad Salamat Khan also learned classical music from Professor Wali Khan of the Kapurthala gharana.

In 1942, with the blessings of Ustad Maula Bux Khan, the three brothers formed their own Qawwali party and began performing at shrines in and around Jalandhar. After the partition of the subcontinent, the family initially moved to Lahore, before settling in Multan. Here, Bakhshi Salamat Qawwal cultivated a local following in the shrines of Multan and Faisalabad, but their big break came in 1958 when they were invited to perform for Radio Pakistan Karachi. From then till Ustad Salamat Khan’s death in 1982, Bakhshi Salamat Qawwal were acclaimed as one of Pakistan’s pre-eminent Qawwali parties. After Salamat Khan’s death, his son Javed Salamat led the party, renaming it Bakhshi Javed Salamat Qawwal.

Bakhshi Salamat Qawwal, joined by their shagird Sadiq Ali ‘Saddo’ Khan on second harmonium, were a formidable musical group whose talents were more than the sum of its parts. Bakhshi Khan’s wonderful harmonium playing was the perfect complement to the plaintive, deeply soulful baritone of Salamat Khan and the powerful, classically trained tenor voice of Mubarak Ali Khan. Saddo Khan’s sweet vocal tone remained a highlight of the group’s performances and rounded out the Qawwali party. Frequent performers on Radio Pakistan as well as Pakistan television, Bakhshi Salamat Qawwal were also a big draw at Urs celebrations and music conferences across Pakistan. They were always the first Qawwal party to perform at the annual ‘Barsi’ of Ustad Fateh Ali Khan in Faisalabad, as well as the Urs celebrations at the major shrines of Pakistan. Today, their sons and grandsons are carrying on their legacy as vocalists and instrumentalists.