The Sound of Devotion
If there is one sound that defines the Annual Mela at Dera Baba Murad Shah Ji, it is the sound of Qawwali. The thumping tabla, the soaring harmonium, the voices rising and falling in waves of sacred poetry — this is the music that fills the Nakodar night from dusk to dawn during the mela, carrying with it centuries of Sufi tradition.
Qawwali is not mere performance. In the Sufi tradition, it is a form of sama — a spiritual listening that can bring the soul into direct contact with the divine. At Nakodar, in the presence of the blessed darbaar of Hazrat Baba Murad Shah Ji, this tradition finds one of its most powerful expressions in Punjab.
Karamat Ali & Party — Malerkotla's Gift to Nakodar
For years, the first night of the Nakodar Mela has belonged to Karamat Ali & Party from Malerkotla — a troupe of Qawwali artists whose roots lie in the classical tradition of Punjabi-Sufi music. Karamat Ali carries forward a lineage of Qawwali that stretches back generations, performing verses by the great Sufi poets — Bulleh Shah, Waris Shah, Sultan Bahu — alongside compositions honouring the saints of Punjab.
ਤੇਰੇ ਇਸ਼ਕ ਨਚਾਇਆ, ਕਰ ਕੇ ਥੈਯਾ ਥੈਯਾ — Bulleh Shah
Their performance on the first night of the mela — stretching through the hours of darkness until the first light of dawn — sets the spiritual foundation for the entire gathering. The devotees who have been awake since the previous day find in the Qawwali a second wind, a renewed energy that is not physical but spiritual.
The Structure of a Qawwali Night
A traditional Qawwali mehfil at the mela follows a carefully considered structure. It begins with hamd (praise of the divine), moves through naat (praise of the Prophet), and then into the great classical Qawwali pieces that form the heart of the Punjabi-Sufi tradition. As the night deepens, the music becomes more intense, the repetitions more fervent, the listeners more absorbed.
The Connection Between Qawwali and the Darbaar
Hazrat Baba Murad Shah Ji is associated with the tradition of devotional music — his darbaar is a place where music and spirituality have always been intertwined. The annual Qawwali nights are therefore not an addition to the mela but its essential heart. They are a continuation of the devotional practice that defined the saint's own life.
Listening to Nakodar Qawwali Online
For devotees who cannot be present at the mela, recordings of Qawwali from Nakodar are available on our Audio page. These recordings — captured at the mela over the years — bring a fragment of the night's devotional energy into homes across the world.