TRIBUTE
Ameer Ali Murkeyan Wale
On the passing of Ameer Ali Khan, son of Rafiq Ali Murkeyan Wale Qawwal
Just the other day, I got yet another sad news from a post on Facebook which a friend of mine had shared. It linked to the original post by Arif Ali Khan of The Dream Journey who broke the news of the passing of Ameer Ali Khan.
He was one of the most thoughtful, beautiful people in qawwali music. I discovered his music a number of years ago from a recording that probably went back to the 1980s — a qawwali recital of a ghazal by Bedam Shah Warsi. Captivated by Rafiq Murkeyan Wale’s unique style of singing and the sheer beauty of the composition, I fell in love with it and I used to listen to this on repeat.
Later on, I discovered more recordings from the same time (probably the same recording session). Then I had no idea who Ameer Ali was. I only got to know about him through this video where he is singing a Hindi film song and the beautiful recordings posted by The Dream Journey. Here’s the complete playlist —
Although there is a budding generation of qawwals who sing beautifully and will hopefully take this art form to the next level, still Ameer Ali Khan’s passing definitely marks the end of an era for there’s no one else whose style is as unique as his was. He is survived by his children.
Chhanulal Mishra, on many occasions, has talked about the components of Thumri singing — murki, khatka, meend and gamak. All of these components are part of the modern qawwali too. Rafiq & Ameer were fondly called Murkeyan Wale qawwal as they were inimitable in their rendition of murkis. I have heard subcontinental music extensively and I hadn’t come across a singer who was that good, that unique with their murki rendition. Those were unsung murkis until they sang. Murkis are not commonly used in Khayal, strictly prohibited in Dhrupad. They were probably a thing from Thumri and Dadra and seeped into qawwali (or it could be the other way around).
Aside from being a qawwal, he was an amazing solo singer too. A couple of his recordings singing Hindi film songs (that I talked about earlier) were posted on YouTube, the immortal Lata Mangeshkar songs Bahaaron Mera Jeevan Bhi Sanwaro (which has also been used in many qawwalis, even by Nusrat in a qawwali called Pukaaro Naam Baba Ka Pukaaro in praise of Baba Fariduddin Ganj-e-Shakhar) and Tu Jahaan Jahaan Chalega.
Ameer Ali Khan was a soulful singer. His tremendous contribution to the world of music will be remembered fondly. The only way to pay tribute to him is to listen to his voice and feel what he wanted to convey from his music. On that note, I’ll leave you with this very beautiful rendition by Ameer Ali from the immortal tragic love story of Heer Ranjha. Notice the beauty of the composition, the presentation and the tangential melancholic improvisations.
Condolences to his family.
