Rediscovering chahar-bait, a dying folk music form that travelled from Afghanistan
Musical traditions in India are so varied that one keeps discovering new aspects to them every day. At the recently concluded weeklong Jashn e Wirasat e Urdu (Urdu heritage festival) organised by the Urdu Academy, I chanced upon a new and now endangered genre.
In the beautiful setting of Central Park, at the heart of Delhi’s Connaught Place, we all settled down to listen to ghazals, qawwalis and sufi kalams sung by artists, most of whom were known to me. And then, a group walked in and put up a performance unlike any other. They were to perform the little-known
