Conceptualised and edited by Manjari Chaturvedi, Qawwali: The Call of Hearts in Love is the result of fourteen years of her work in documenting this form. You have your favourite qawwali, you drown yourself in the music, groove to it, but do you know what this music means, where it originated, and how it was specifically structured to make you ‘feel’ ecstatic. Do you know that a Sufi saint had to defend sama and qawwali in a royal court, so that it could be safely passed on to us, 700 years later? You groove to ‘Damadam mast qalandar’, now find the meaning of the song, the poetry and the reason why it is sung. How did qawwali become part of Hindi cinema, who were singing this form in the gramophone era, and what is Sanatani Qawwali? Qawwali: The Call of Hearts in Love is your one-stop resource for answers to the above and much more. Insightful and engaging, Manjari Chaturvedi’s labour of love is a must-read that will be cherished by all lovers of music. At the same time, it is an extremely important contribution to the literature on Sufism and music.
