Dama Dam Mast Qalandar: The anthem of Hindu-Muslim unity
This is merely an opinion peace. This is my interpretation backed by online research and I am open to hearing others opinions on the matter.
The Indian Subcontinent boasts of rich cultural history plagued with regional, cultural, and religous differences that has hindered the growth of the region as a whole. Hindu-Muslim violence towards the end of British India had forced leaders to consider separating the region into Muslim and Hindu majority areas¹.
Few things unite the three countries these days (maybe I’ll talk about them in another post), and one of them definitely is music. A singer on stage could just say the magical words “O laal meri..” and everyone - Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh would break into an almost spirtual frenzy.
The beauty of devotional poetry is that it goes beyond religous differences and everyone interprets them in their own way.
How fitting that this song is sung in praise of Syed Usman Marvandi A.K.A Lal Shahbaz Qalandar.
Lal = Red (Because of his red attire. Note: Laal also means beloved)
Shahbaz = A bird similar to the falcon (Due to his divine spirit. Possibly a nod to the soaring nature of spiritual awareness saints have)
Qalandar = Wandering saint
Shahbaz Qalandar was a Sunni Muslim from present day Afghanistan (his ancestry goes back to Iraq and Iran) who settled in Sindh, Pakistan².
He is said to have preached love and tolerance between Hindus and Muslims which brings me to my point for this article.
Let us dive into a few words of the song before I explain what’s happening.
O laal meri, pat rakhio bala, jhoolelaalan
Oh the red robed one, please protect me always, jhulelaal
Sindri da Sehvan da, sakhi Shabaaz kalandar
The friend of Sind and Sehwan, Shahbaaz Qalandar
Dama dam mast qaladar
This line, has many interpretations, one of them being “My breath is for the jubilant saint”. Dama dam here essentially means “with every breath”.
Note how I bolded the word “jhulelal”. He was affectionately called “Jhulelaal” by the Sindhi Hindus as they believed he was a re-incarnation of Jhulelaal, who in turn was incarnation of the deity of water, Varuna.
In polytheistic religions like Hinduism, people tend to have the favourite/preferred deity, based on their trade and livelihood, much like patron saints we talk about in Christianity. Sindh is close to the ocean and many of the people there were seafaring. Hence it is no surprise that the Hindus of that region held in high regard the deity of the seas.
The actual song we hear in folk music festivals traces it’s origins way back to around the 13th or 14th century. It is said the original kalaam (words) were written by Amir Khusrau and later modified by Baba Bulleh Shah.
However, the general consensus is that this song has been playing at the shrine of Shahbaz Qalandar since way before it’s first introduction to popular culture: in the 1956 Pakistani film Jabroo. This version was composed by Master Ashiq Hussain and has been performed by scores of musicians across the subcontinent, my favourite one so far being this version by Hans Raj Hans.
Back to the lyrics. A part of the song goes like this (note that there are no “formal” lyrics to the song anymore. Many singers have added their own lyrics consistent to the theme, as is common in qawwali music).
Har dam peera teri khair hove
May your name and sainthood stay blessed forever
Naam-e-ali beda paar laga jhoole laalan
In Ali’s name, make my boat reach the shore, dear jhulelaal
Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is the cousin and son-in law of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the fourth caliph of Islam. There are differences between sects of Islam with regards to his rank in leadership, but that is besides the point, at least for today.
What is important for this discussion is that ideologies and values from both Muslim and Hindu faiths has been incorporated into a single line of this gem.
With the knowledge that Sindhis are a seafaring people and jhulelaal is the patron saint of the seas, if you will, you see that there is a humble prayer hidden among the verses.
Some consider spirituality to be at a higher level than rituals and labels in religions, and they might just have a point there. We will probably have a deeper look in to Sufism in a later piece. The beauty of devotional poetry is that it goes beyond religous differences and everyone interprets them in their own way.
He is Hazrat Shahbaz Qalandar to us Muslims, and he is jhulelaal to the Hindus. He is a man of the people, and in this timeless classic, humanity wins. May we all learn to live together in peace and harmony.
Unfortunately - there is a twist. The song which I called the anthem of unity for Hindus and Muslims has highlighted the differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims. Some Shias believe that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) should have been the first caliph, which may be the reason for this line in the chorus:
Ali da pehla number
Ali is first before everyone
Some orthodox Sunni Muslims sing a variation of the line in order to stay true to their beliefs on the religion. But like I said, there are no formal lyrics to qawwalis. Every singer puts their spin on it, and let us use this as a tool for unity rather than division, like they did here in this video.
Four singers, three countries, two religions.
It has been my first blogpost in a while, so forgive any mistakes. 6 years in engineering has definitely hampered my creative writing skills, and I would appreciate any constructive crticism. You are welcome to share your thoughts on music, sufism, secularism, and the regional history, but please remember to keep your comments respectful.
Take love, stay safe, Eid Mubarak!
- This is going to be discussed in another post
- For the etymology of Sindh and Sehwan, see here:
