It was in the 1960s that Radio Pakistan’s music producer Abdul Shakoor Bedil took me and Mushtaq Hashmi to Radio Pakistan. We introduced to a folk singer Hamid Ali Bela.
He was clad in a flowery coloured kurta and matching shalwar with beads around his neck; attire of a Sufi. When he sang his voice was soft and melodious. On Shakoor Saheb’s request he taught us a few folk songs including ‘Sassi e Bekhabre’, ‘Chal Mele Nu Chaliye’, ‘Neu La Laya Beparwah Dei Naal’, ‘Kiwain Gori Chaldi Aei Sapoliye Di Chaal’ etc. These songs were recorded and the music arrangement was done by composer Kale Khan. Later when these songs were aired or telecast at PTV, they became our identity. We recorded these songs at Transcription Service, Radio Pakistan, Karachi also. From this point of view we were Bela’s pupils in folk music. He also used to take pride in owning us.
Bela’s love for music was confined to singing Shah Hussain’s Kafis only. That became his specialty. It was not that he could not render Kafis of other Sufi Saints like Khwaja Ghulam Fareed but he loved singing Shah Hussain. As a matter of fact he desired to sing Ghazals also but his senior professionals advised him to stick to singing Shah Hussain only, a path that led him to bag Pride of Performance Award in his later life from the President of Pakistan. The story behind Bela saying goodbye to his passion for Ghazal singing is that leaving this domain of music his own choice. He took this decision when he listened to Mehdi Hassan. Singing Ghazals, Bela thought was Mehdi Hassan’s forte. The last Ghazal Bela sang was ‘Garmi-e-Hasrat-e-Nakaam Sei Jal Jaate Hain’ by Chiragh Hassan Hasrat. Bela’s voice was suited for the mystical moods of the Sufis. Bela was born in Amritsar before the creation of Pakistan and moved to Pakistan at the time of its creation.
Hamid Ali Bela revealed in a TV interview that once he was singing at Shah Hussain’s shrine that a Darwaish came forward and suggested to him to acquire the word Bela as part of his name since his voice was deep and serene. His first rendered Kafi ‘Maei Ni Main Kinu Akhaan Darad Vichore Da Haal Ni’ (O! mother with whom should I share the pains of losing touch with my beloved) and it became an instant hit.Thespirit behind Shah Hussain’s lyrics (rendered by Bela) ‘Rabba Mere Haal Da Meham Toon’ (O! God you are aware of my ordeal), is to fuel the spirit by perfectly elating the Sufi experience of annihilation. Bela voice runs like smooth flow of water while rendering such Kafis. Many declare Bela as devotee singer of Faqir (“Beggar King”) poet.
One had only to visit a shrine to really judge what sort of music Bela offered. It does not have the gradual progression to vehemence like in Qawwali rendering. It is soothing, more akin to spiritual prayer. For example in the Kafi ‘Mera Sohna Sajjan Ghar Aaya/Tuseen Ral Mil Deyo Mubarakaan’ (My adorable beloved has graced my abode, please offer me collective felicitations), Bela had relived a different mood of Shah Hussain; a joyful picture of communion with the Beloved.
Another Kafi worth mentioning is ‘Ni Tenu Rabb Na Bhule/Due Faqeeraan Di Aei Haa’ (May you never forget the Lord. It is the prayer of a Faqir) in which the concept that even death cannot stand between you and the Lord has been highlighted. I have not been able to locate the year of birth of Bela but he died in June 27, 2001. He spent all his life in Choona Mandi, Lahore.
Bela had a brief stint at Pakistani Film Industry also. He rendered a duet ‘Saade Naal Gal Kar Pyar Di’ with Zubeda Khanum for the film ‘Chan Mahi’. His life was a mixture of highs and lows as far as financial stability is concerned. He used to walk to Radio Station. On way sometimes he would stop at a painter’s shop, hold the brush and take a dip at this art also. His son Sajjad Ali Bela revealed that when young, Bela used to go for wrestling also.
He was a true wandering Darwaish. According to one of his fans he was a singer with a sound that seems to have sprouted organically from the dark loamy soil along the wide river banks. He had no formal training in the art of singing. Yet he simply mesmerized the listeners with his richly spiritual, commanding and often, spine-tingling performances. It is a pity that much of his repertoire is not available commercially except for some of his recordings in Radio Pakistan’s music library.
Published in Daily Times, July 3rd , 2017.