Today marks the 72nd birth anniversary of legendary qawwali artist and world-renowned singer Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
He is not only a singer but a phenomenon for his fans. Listening to his soulful voice is like meditation, which only gets better every time one listens to his songs.
His way of expressing ‘Sufiana Kalam’ was extraordinary. He had a large range of vocal abilities and he [erformed for hours in events at high levels of intensity. He is often referred to as “Shahenshah-e-Qawwali”.
His work has been featured in several of his albums, concerts and often in movies as well. He travelled the world for his concerts including United Kingdom, India, Japan and the United States.
He released 25 qawwali albums during his lifetime which were instant hits throughout Pakistan.
In 1987, he was awarded the “Pride of Performance” by the President of Pakistan. He also received the UNESCO music prize in 1995 and the Arts and Culture Prize of the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes, Japan.
Even after death, he has received several awards and nominations including Time magazine’s “60 Years of Asian Heroes”, CNN’s list of twenty most iconic musicians”Legends” award at the UK Asian Music Awards, NPR’s 50 Great Voices list, and 14th position in UGO’s list of the best singers of all time.
