This week’s Har Funn Maula is a Sufi dhamaal power track using dhol based rhythm along with Western drums giving it a rock element. This is one of the three songs for week 3 of Coke Studio 2020 and has been performed by contemporary rock-star Umair Jaswal and Sufi stalwart Sanam Marvi. The initial lyrics in the demo was submitted by Shuja Haider and then was eventually modified for Coke Studio 2020 by Asim Raza for a more universal message.
Coke Studio Episode 3: Har Funn Maula featuring Umair Jaswal & Sanam Marvi
Speaking about the message of the song, Jaswal said, “Har Funn Maula is a beautiful prayer in which a man asks his Creator to make him better at everything he does. We’ve performed a song with such high energy after a very long time; the energy of it is bound to have you moving to its groove,” said Jaswal. He added, “The song means so much to me – I felt every word of this song deeply while I was singing it.”
The song starts with Umair Jaswal and incorporates the dhol which is typical of the dhamaal, a type of devotional music/dance practice that honors qalandars or Sufi saints, well suited to the raw and loud vocals of the rock musician. It then departs into Marvi’s majestic and big voice, bringing in a Sufic flair to the message. Marvi’s departure is sung from Shah Jo Risalo, written by Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, a Sufi saint and one of the greatest Sindhi poets of all times. The Shah Jo Risalo is his most celebrated work of poetry which is divided into chapters known an “surs” (which are also musical notes) and reference stories of famous female characters from romantic folk tales such as Momal Rano, Sassi Punnhun, Sohni Mehar etc.
Talking about the song, Marvi said, “When you set foot on the first step of love, without even realizing it, you take a step in the direction of Ishq-e-Haqqiqi (love for God Almighty). Somewhere along the way you feel the pain of heartbreak, loss and you realize that only prayer can give you a sense of peace and calm.”
Jaswal adds that, “When intentions are pure, all the troubles in life vanish. All that is required then is for you to build a connection with God and open your heart to other people.”
Composed by Shuja Haider and arranged by producer Rohail Hyatt himself, the backing vocals for Har Fun Maula were provided by Kumail Jaffery, Nimra Rafiq, Shahab Hussain and Wajiha Naqvi. The house-band include Rohail Hyatt on the keyboards and acoustic guitar; Asad Ahmed on electric guitar; Turkish musician Volkan Öktem on drums; Kamran ‘Mannu’ Zafar on bass guitar; Shehroze Hussain playing the sitar; Nawazish Nasri on the rabab; Abier ‘Veeru’ Shan playing percussions and Babar Khanna on eastern percussions.
Fahad is an entrepreneur and a marketing enthusiast who loves to write on trending topics. He loves travelling & playing tennis is what he does in his leisure time. He tweets @fahad164.
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