Kafi

Kafi (Punjabi: ਕਾਫ਼ੀ (Gurmukhi), کافی (Shahmukhi), Hindi: काफ़ी, Urdu: کافی, Sindhi:ڪافي) is a classical form of Sufi music mostly in the Siraiki, Punjabi and Sindhi languages and originating from the Punjab, Siraiki vusaib and Sindh regions in the Indian subcontinent. Some well-known Kafi poets are Baba Farid, Bulleh Shah, Shah Hussain, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Sachal Sarmast and Khwaja Ghulam Farid. This poetry style has also lent itself to the Kafi genre of singing, popular throughout South Asia, especially Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. Over the years, both Kafi poetry and its rendition have experienced rapid growth phases as various poets and vocalists added their own influences to the form,[1] creating a rich and varied poetic form, yet through it all it remained centered on the dialogue between the Soul and the Creator, symbolized by the murid (disciple) and his Murshid (Master), and often by lover and his Beloved.

Music of Pakistan
Genres
Classical Semi-classical Folk Ghazal Qawwali Sufi
Specific forms
Religious music	Hamd Nasheed Naat Qawwali Sufi
Ethnic music	Balti Balochi Brahui Burusho Burushaski Hazaragi Hindko Kashmiri Khowar Kalasha Pashto Pothwari Punjabi Saraiki Shina Sindhi
Other music	Bhangra Pop (Filmi) Hip Hop Rock (Sufi rock)
Media and performance
Music awards	Hum Awards Lux Style Awards Nigar Awards Pakistan Media Awards ARY Film Awards
Music charts	Patari Haftanama
Music festivals	All Pakistan Music Conference Lahore Music Meet Lok Virsa Mela
Music media	Magazines Danka Television ARY Musik Coke Studio Nescafe Basement Uth Records Internet Taazi Patari.pk
Nationalistic and patriotic songs
National anthem	Qaumi Taranah Watan Hamara (AJ&K)
Regional music
Azad Kashmir Balochistan Gilgit-Baltistan Islamabad Capital Territory Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Punjab Sindh

Music of India
A lady playing the Tanpura, c. 1735 (Rajasthan)
Genres
Traditional Classical Carnatic Odissi Hindustani Folk Borgeet Baul Bhajan Shyama Sangeet Ramprasadi Rabindra Sangeet Nazrul Geeti Dwijendrageeti Atulprasadi Prabhat Samgiita Thumri Dadra Chaiti Kajari Sufi Ghazal Qawwali Modern Bhangra Bhangragga Blues Filmi Bollywood Ghazal Qawwali Chakwood Goa trance Dance Indi-pop Asian Underground Jazz Rock Bengali Raga
Media and performance
Music awards	Filmfare Awards Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Music festivals	Saptak Festival of Music Chennai Music Season Dover Lane music festival Purandaradasa Aradhana Tyagaraja Aradhana Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan
Music media	Sruti The Record
Nationalistic and patriotic songs
National anthem	Jana Gana Mana
Regional music
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Ancient Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal

The word Kafi is derived from the Arabic kafa meaning group. The genre is said to be derived from the Arabic poetry genre, qasidah, a monorhyme ode that is always meant to be sung, using one or two lines as a refrain that is repeated to create a mood. Kafi poetry is usually themed around heroic and great romantic tales from the folkfore, often used as a metaphor for mystical truths, and spiritual longing.[2][3]

Kafi singing

In musical terms, kafi refers to the genre of Punjabi and Sindhi classical music which utilizes the verses of kafi poets such as Bulleh Shah and Shah Hussain. Kafi music is devotional music, normally associated with the Sufi orders or Tariqah of Islam in South Asia, and was sung by dervishes or fakirs (Islamic mendicants), solo or in groups, as an offering to their murshid, spiritual guide.

It is characterized by a devotional intensity in its delivery, and as such overlaps considerably with the Qawwali genre. Just like Qawwali, its performances often took place at the dargahs (mausoleums) of various Sufi saints in the region. However, unlike Qawwali, the musical arrangement is much simpler and may only include one harmonium, one tabla, one dholak and a single vocalist. The emphasis remains on the words rather than the music itself, since the central aim of Kafi music is to convey the essence of the mystical lyrics. The central verse is often repeated. There are no fixed styles of singing of Kafi. Traditionally dervishes in Sindh used instruments like Yaktaro, a one-stringed plucked instrument, and wooden clappers, chappars, though many contemporary singers have chosen their own variations[2]

Rise of Kafi singing

Some of the early notable exponents of this form in the 1930s, when classical singing became highly popular, were Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan of the Patiala gharana, who used the dhrupad style in his rendition of Sindhi Kafis, and his contemporary in Sindhi kafi singing, Ustad Allahdino Noonari, who used the fusion form.[1]

Kafi has gained a higher profile in the West in the late 20th century, thanks to the Pakistani singer Abida Parveen, who, like qawwali maestro Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, has performed in front of the Western audiences.

Sanam Marvi from Hyderabad is another singer and vocalist, performing Kafi based Sufi songs.

References

1. Tribute: The legendary maestro by Shaikh Aziz, Dawn (newspaper), 05 Jul, 2009.
2. Kafi South Asian folklore: an encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, by Peter J. Claus, Sarah Diamond, Margaret Ann Mills. Taylor & Francis, 2003. ISBN 0-415-93919-4. p. 317.
3. Kafi Crossing boundaries, by Geeti Sen. Orient Blackswan, 1998. ISBN 8125013415. p. 133.