Pitching at high nodes is not always good singing. A good combination of sounds is not always good music. The instruments were great but they were not as beautifully coherent or as artistically incoherent that they would make you swing and sway. He even failed to pronounce Urdu words properly like ShoQ and Kidhar. But Atif Aslam was unable to put the emphasis on just the right words at the right time. It had the same poetry as the original Qawwali. Atif Aslam’s piece was missing devotion and chanting. Not that I am any kind of expert, but generally speaking, In Qawwali there is great emphasis on devotion, poetry, and chanting. They were just simply out of their depths. I appreciate Coke Studio for trying and would praise Atif Aslam for trying. Tajdar-e-Haram is an emotional roller coaster, and Sabri Brothers steer you skillfully with the help of chants, tabla, harmonium, style, narration, and wonderful fusion of Urdu, Persian, and Arabic verses. Speak to any Pakistani, and they would tell you how this Qawwali has made their eyes wet, gave them goose bumps, or evoked strong emotions of love, devotion, and hope.

It filled me with loss, sadness, then hope, and love. It was Sehri time in Ramzan, and Sabri Brothers’ Tajdar e Haram was playing on TV. My grandmother had just died, I was very close to her.

Coke studio tajdar e haram