Mast Qalandar (feat. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan)

Tracklist + Liner Notes

1. Mast Qalandar (feat. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan)

   Dam mast Qalandar mast mast
   The drunk Qalandar*, in his drunken state**

   Iko vird hai dam dam Ali Ali
   (Has) Only one chant – Ali, in every breath

   Sakhi Lal Qalandar mast mast
   The generous red-robed Qalandar, in his drunken state (a reference to the  12thcentury sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar)

   Jhoole Lal Qalandar mast mast
   (Another reference to Lal Shahbaz Qalandar)

   Akhi ja malanga tu Ali Ali Ali akhi ja malanga
   Oh my brother, keep saying Ali, Ali, Ali; keep on saying

   Akhi ja malanga sach ape mun len ge
   Oh my brother, Go on saying, they will (themselves) accept the truth

   Aj ne te kal saray Ali Ali can ge
   If not today then tomorrow everyone will repeat Ali, Ali

   Rab ne kinne shaan banaye
   God has blessed countless (people)

   Be karma Te karm kamaye
   He has even blessed the wretched

   Jeda vi Tere dar Te Aaye
   Whoever comes to your doorstep

   O na kaddivi khaali jaye
   Never returns empty-handed

   Shana uchiyaan teria Peera
   Oh teacher (referring to Ali) with lofty grace

   Hovan door haneriyaan Peera
   May the darkness (within me) be purged, Oh teacher

   Aasan he ba teriya Peera
   I have pinned my (very many) hopes in you, Oh teacher

   Soon arzaa aj meeriya Peera
   Grant my requests today, Oh teacher

   Commentary: This song, which has been popular in the Indian subcontinent for centuries, is based on a poem by the Chishti Sufi and musical genius, Amir Khusro, which was later modified by the great Panjabi Sufi poet Bulleh Shah. The song’s lyrics honor and revere (but do not worship) ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, to whom virtually all Sufi orders trace their lineage, as well as the famous 12th century Sufi saint of Sindh, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar.

   *A Qalandar is a type of wandering Sufi or dervish who would often live in the wilderness and wear tattered clothes.
   Lal Shahbaz Qalandar was one such Sufi.

   **Drunkenness here refers not to intoxication from alcohol, but to the ecstatic state of remembrance of God.
   As the famous verse of the Egyptian Sufi poet Ibn al-Farid says:
   “In remembrance of the beloved, we drank wine;
   we were drunk with it even before the creation of the vine