Such is the craze that belly dancers from Russia Uzbekistan are learning the mujra to perform at qawwali nights in India. At a recent Mumbai wedding, two Uzbek dancers in flowing Indian outfits performed to qawwali songs from Main Hoon Naa. For an upcoming wedding in Delhi in December, artist coordinator Amit Ghosh of Rhythm Divine, who has organised 20 qawwali nights in this season, is coordinating mujra dancers from Lahore, who will be in town in time for fittings of their outfits.

Delhi-based Ehsan Bharti-Ghongroowale, 48, has been a qawwal since he was a teenager, and of late, he’s been besieged with requests to perform at weddings. His 15-member troupe includes two female vocalists. Ghongroowale sings in six different languages, including Persian, Punjabi and Marathi and can, incredibly, intonate the sound of the ghungroo from the back of his throat. “At weddings, qawwalis should be interactive and fun and should involve the crowd and relatives,” says Ghongroowale, who pauses dramatically at the end of every line and lets the audience complete it. “Wedding qawwalis are flirtatious. The songs Dulhe ka sehra and Jhoom barabar jhoom are very popular,” he says.

The qawwali culture, always more popular in the north, has now made inroads into Mumbai as well as down south. At a recent south Indian wedding in Chennai, qawwalis were a hit. “The father of the bride played the dhol along with the qawwals and everyone participated in the frolic. A lot of guests were NRIs and they enjoyed this ethnic evening fare,’’ says Pershad, who has already organised five qawwali nights in Delhi and will supervise six more in December.

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