Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: A Legacy Revived in Cyberspace

Muhammad Salim

The Pakistani television actor Firdous Jamal rightly said that “it is almost impossible to say or write anything about Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. It is like trying to imprison the wind in one’s grip. As one cannot tie a knot with wind so it is not possible to weave a net of words round his art. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is a living legend, an ever shinning, bright star on the face of time.” Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1948-1997), known as Shahenshah-e-Qawwali – King of kings of Qawwali – is unarguably one of the most loved and celebrated figures in the world of music. Although fair amount of work has been done on Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s (NFAK) brilliant artistry, comparatively less attention has been given to the technological mediums that connect his magical voice to the hearts of his fans and lovers. In the 80s and 90s, recorded technologies such as cassettes, radio and television broadcasts played an important role in introducing the great Nusrat or what Japanese called “Singing Buddha” to wider audience in different parts of the world. With the onset of digital revolution in the early 2000s, this “Quintessence of the Human Voice” revived in such a way that no one had ever anticipated. From various streaming platforms to interconnected social media spaces, the repaid processes of digitization left no stone unturned in allowing NFAK’s art to transcend time and space.

Wider Access to Nusrat’s Legacy Through Streaming Platforms:

Streaming platforms are those emerging technologies that enable users to access and use various digital contents such as audio music and videos. Some of the major streaming platforms include YouTube, Spotify and SoundCloud. As of 2024, YouTube leads with 2.50 billion users, followed by Spotify with 626 million, and SoundCloud with 140 million. Once available only on traditional recorded devices, NFAK’s music is now easily accessible to broader audiences through digital streaming services that are affordable, replicable and portable. NFAK’s popular songs, including Allah Hoo, Afreen Afreen and Mere Rashk-e-Qamar, have millions of views on YouTube – his track Tumhe Dillagi Bhool Jani Padegi alone has over 100 million views. In addition to his songs, dozens of interviews, documentaries about NFAK’s illustrious career, and performances celebrating his legacy are easily available on YouTube. Interestingly, YouTube algorithmic recommendations and playlist system further increase NFAK’s audience by exposing his soulful voice to the digitized populace who otherwise may not have explored him. On Spotify, Nusrat Sahab acquires visible presence with impressive 1,157,076,567 numbers of streams. Like YouTube recommendation system, Spotify’s algorithm-based playlists significantly expand NFAK’s reach among global music lovers, especially young generations. Similarly, the SoundCloud platform allows modern adaptations such as remix and rework of digitised artistic materials. It means that the SoundCloud’s interactive nature has led to the (re)production of tons of content associated with Ustad NFAK. Close analysis of such content on SoundCloud does show that the process of  remixing, reworking and reshaping of NFAK’s music is increasing with an exponential rate, which he would have appreciated if not uncritically. Overall, the given streaming platforms are playing an important role in making NFAK’s treasured catalong widely accessible through portable digital devices.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Presence on Social Media Platforms:

Social Media’s searchability allows researchers to easily explore contents related to NFAK. It is through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok that one can easily discover his rare and previously unseen photos, recordings, interview clips, fan-discussion about his loveable personality, and so on. There are a number of fan pages, public groups and tribute accounts dedicated to NFAK on Facebook. For example, publicly available Facebook pages and groups, including Nusrat Qawalies, theofficialnusrat, khansaabjilovers, NFAK, Meykhana-e-Nusrat and Ustad NFAK Fan Club, collectively consist of 2,452,500 followers and members. These fans of NFAK continue to celebrate his art via different and creative ways of virtual interactions i.e., user-generated tributes, digital memorialization, live recordings etc. On Instagram, NFAK’s presence is uniquely noticeable due to the visually rich contents and attractive features like Stories and Reels. Three main Instagram accounts, namely @theofficalnusrat, @legendnfakworld and @nfak.lyrics, host 1,048,000 followers with a combined total of 2,653 posts. Moreover, the number of posts in these and other Instagram accounts is significantly increasing, especially after the recent release of NFAK’s lost album Chain of Light. When it comes to TikTok, NFAK’s presence becomes more dynamic, spontaneous and emotionally appealing. Based on content analysis of three TikTok accounts associated with NFAK, including @ustadnusratfatehalikhan (1.2 million followers), @nusratfatehalikhan122 (207,500 followers) and @.nusratfatehalikhan (414,800 followers), it can be argued that this particular technology is not only expanding NFAK’s popularity but also (re)shaping how people think what they think about him as an artist. This can be gauged from the fact that the aforementioned TikTok accounts received more than 37 million reactions. The latter digital engagements complement Chris Nickson’s observation that “it was not uncommon even for Western listeners, who didn’t understand a word he was singing or follow his sufi traditions, to be moved to tears upon hearing him.”

Web Resources for Exploring Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s Discography

This research identifies three major websites related to NFAK, namely Nusrat Online, Nusrat Sahib and Real World Records. These meticulously curated virtual sites provide well-preserved collection of digital repositories related to his art, life and cultural impacts. Nusrat Online provides a rich array of digitized sources, including updated collections of NFAK’s performances (both video and audio), articles about his life and legacy, a gallery of memorable photos and ensemble with additional informational materials. This site also has an online shopping option, which offers NFAK’s different albums and T-shirts with NFAK’s image while sinning Qawwali in his classic style. Likewise, Nusrat Sahib contains rich archives of multimedia products associated with NFAK, including literature and downloadable MP3s and videos. The number of downloaded audios and viewership evidence that users take benefits from this specific websites. Unlike the first two websites, Real World Records is directly linked to its respective social media platforms. In terms of users’ engagement, this site mainly focuses on NFAK’s popular albums, specified recorded videos and other commercial products. In this way, these digital portals have not only preserved Nusrat’s impactful legacy but also opened new doors of learnings for the younger generation.

In sum, streaming platforms, social media and the mentioned cyber sites create a valuable tapestry of multimedia resources pertaining to NFAK’s  distinctive work and legacy. In an era of hyper digitization, the cyberspace has revived Nusrat’s precious art in such a way that no physical archive could ever match – reliability, flexibility, spontaneity and interactivity. Last but not least, the question whether Artificial Intelligence could supersede the brilliance of Nusrat’s artistry is still a matter of speculation.