''Dama Dam Mast Qalandar'' () is a spiritual

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

qawwali written in the honour of the most revered

Sufi saint Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (1177–1274) of Sehwan Sharif. The original poem was initially written by the 13th-century Sufi poet Amir Khusrow, then further modified by Bulleh Shah in the 18th century. It is said that this qawwali was adapted from the original prayer by Amir Khusrow, and was then modified completely by Bulleh Shah. Bulleh Shah gave an entirely different color to the qawwali, adding verses in praises of

Shahbaz Qalandar Hazrat Sayyid Usman Marwandi, (1177 - 19 February 1274) popularly known as Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (), was a Sufi saint and poet of present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. Lal Shahbaz Qalandar was born in Marwand, Sistan to a family from Baghda ...

and giving it a large tint of

Sindhi culture The Culture of Sindhi ( sd, سنڌ جي ثقافت) has its roots in the Indus Valley civilization. Sindh has been shaped by the largely desert region, the natural resources it had available, and continuous foreign influence. The Indus River, Ind ...

. The poem includes a reference to the town of

Sehwan Sehwan ( sd, سيوهڻ شريف, ur, ; also commonly referred to as Sehwan Sharif or ''Noble Sehwan'') is a historic city located in Jamshoro District of Sindh province in Pakistan and on the west bank of the Indus north-west of Hyderabad. T ...

, which is home to the

Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar The Shrine of Lal Shabaz Qalandar ( ur, ; sd, لال شهباز قلندر جي مزار) is a shrine and mausoleum dedicated to the 13th century Muslim and Sufi saint, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar. The shrine is located in Sehwan Sharif, in the Pakis ...

. The word "Laal" can refer to

Jhulelal Jhulelal may refer to: *Jhulelal (Hinduism) A folkloric hero among the sect of Daryapanthi Sindhis, Jhulelal is the most revered deity of Sindhi Hindus in modern South Asia. Legends converge upon that Jhulelal was born during the rule of one ...

as a young man, or his red dress. With origins dating back 600 years, "Dama Dam Mast Qalandar" is a popular traditional Sindhi Sufi Islamic folk song across the northern

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

, especially Punjab and Sindh, as well as

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

. Various renditions of the song have been composed and performed by numerous composers and singers over the years.

Ashiq Hussain song

Popular modern renditions of the song include the melody composed by

Pakistani music The Music of Pakistan ( ur, , lit=pákistáni mosíqi) includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Middle Eastern, and modern-day Western popular music influences. With these multiple ...

composer Master Ashiq Hussain. Originally called "Lal Meri Pat", the song was initially composed for the 1956

Pakistani film Cinema of Pakistan, popularly known as Lollywood ( ur, ), refers to the film industry, filmmaking industry in Pakistan. Pakistan is home to several film studios centres, primarily located in its three largest cities – Karachi, Lahore, and ...

''Jabroo''. It was sung by

Inayat Hussain Bhatti Inayat Hussain Bhatti ( ur, ), (12 January 1928 – 31 May 1999) was a Pakistani film playback singer, film actor, producer, director, script writer, social worker, columnist, religious scholar and a promoter of the development of the Punj ...

, Fazal Hussain, and A.R. Bismil. Ashiq Hussain was reduced to poverty in later life, living in a

slum A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily in ...

at the Bazar-e-Hakiman in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...

. When Hussain died in 2017, most Pakistanis were unaware that he was the original composer of the modern melody.

Noor Jehan song

The most popular modern rendition of the song, which includes Ashiq Hussain's melody, was "Dama Dam Mast Qalandar" from the 1969

''Dillan Dey Soudey'', where it was modified by Nazir Ali and sung by

Noor Jehan Noor Jehan (Punjabi: ) (born () Allah Rakhi Wasai ; 23 September 1926 – 23 December 2000; sometimes spelled Noorjehan),Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema,'' British Film Institute, Oxford University Press ...

. It was then sung by other

Pakistani singers This is an alphabetical list of musicians from Pakistan. The list includes musical bands, some groups and solo artists that were and are in the industry today. The list also includes film singers, folk singers, pop/rock singers, jazz musicians, ra ...

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ( pa, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997) was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. He was primarily a singer of qawwali — a form of Sufi devotional music. Sometimes c ...

Aziz Mian Aziz Mian Qawwal ( ur, عزیز میاں قوال) (17 April 1942 – 6 December 2000) was a Pakistani traditional qawwal famous for singing ghazals in his own style of qawwali and is considered one of the greatest qawwals in South Asia. He ...

Abida Parveen Abida Parveen ( Urdu, sd, ; born 20 February 1954) is a Pakistani singer, composer and musician of Sufi music. She is also a painter and entrepreneur. Parveen is one of the highest paid singers in Pakistan. Her singing and music has earned ...

, the

Sabri Brothers The Sabri Brothers (Punjabi, ) were a musical band from Pakistan who were performers of Sufi qawwali music and were closely connected to the Chishti Order. They are considered as one of the greatest Sufi qawwali singers of all times. The Sab ...

Reshma Reshma ( ur, ; c.1947 – 3 November 2013), was a Pakistani folk singer. Awarded with Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Distinction), the third highest honour and civilian award in Pakistan among other honours, she is remembered for folk songs and h ...

Komal Rizvi Komal Rizvi ( ur, ; born 3 August 1981) is a Pakistani actress, singer, songwriter, and a television host. She is famous for her songs in Coke Studio (Pakistan). Early life Rizvi was born in Dubai and then raised in England and Nigeria. As a ...

, and Junoon. The song has also been performed by the Bangladeshi singer

Runa Laila Runa Laila ( bn, রুনা লায়লা, ur, ; born 17 November 1952) is a Bangladeshi playback singer and composer. She started her career in Pakistan film industry in the late 1960s. Her style of singing is inspired by Pakistani ...

, and Indian artists like

Hans Raj Hans Hans Raj Hans is an Indian singer who later became a politician. He is a member of Bharatiya Janata Party and a recipient of the civilian honour of Padma Shri. He sings Punjabi folk and Sufi music as well as in movies and has also released hi ...

, the Wadali brothers,

Harshdeep Kaur Harshdeep Kaur (born 16 December 1986) is an Indian playback singer known for her Bollywood Hindi, Punjabi,English and Sufi songs. She is popularly known as "Sufi Ki Sultana" because of her soulful Sufi renditions. After winning titles in two ...

Nooran Sisters The Nooran Sisters are Sultana Nooran (born 14 June 1992) and Jyoti Nooran (born 24 February 1994) who are a devotional Sufi singing duo from Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India. Born to a family of Sufi musicians, they perform Sham Chaurasia gharana c ...

, and

Mika Singh Mika Singh (born 10 June 1977) is an Indian singer. His songs include "Bas Ek King" ('' Singh Is Kinng''), "Mauja Hi Mauja" ('' Jab We Met''), "Ibn-e-Batuta" ('' Ishqiya''), and "Dhanno" ('' Housefull''). He has released several solo albums and ...

(with

Yo Yo Honey Singh Hirdesh Singh (born 15 March 1983), known professionally as Yo Yo Honey Singh or simply Honey Singh, is an Indian music producer, rapper, singer, songwriter and an actor. He started out in 2003 as a session and recording artist, and became a b ...

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan song

Pakistani musicians

and M. Arshad composed a new song inspired by "Dam Mast Qalandar", with a different melody and arrangement. It was sung by Khan and released as "Dam Mast Mast" in his 1991 album ''Mast Qalander (Vol 14)''. Khan also performed the song for the 1992 Pakistani film ''Boxer''. in both

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

. His song is variously called "Dam Mast Qalandar Mast Mast", "Dam Mast Qalandar" or "Mast Mast". In 2016,

British-Iranian Iranians in the United Kingdom consist of people of Iranian nationality who have settled in the United Kingdom, as well as British residents and citizens of Iranian heritage. Iranians in the United Kingdom are referred to by hyphenated terms suc ...

singer

Sami Yusuf Sami Yusuf (born 21 July 1980) is a British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He gained international attention with the release of his debut album, '' Al-Muʽallim'', in 2003. As of 2020, he has released eight studio al ...

performed a rendition of Khan's song in his album ''

Barakah In Islam, ''Barakah'' or ''Baraka'' ( ar, بركة "blessing") is a blessing power, a kind of continuity of spiritual presence and revelation that begins with God and flows through that and those closest to God. Baraka can be found within physi ...

''. The

Bollywood music Hindi film songs, more formally known as Hindi Geet or filmi songs and informally known as Bollywood music, are songs featured in Hindi films. Derived from the song-and-dance routines common in Indian films, Bollywood songs, along with danc ...

director Viju Shah used Khan's version to produce the hit song "Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast" for the

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

film ''

Mohra ''Mohra'' () is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film co-written, edited and directed by Rajiv Rai and produced by his father Gulshan Rai. It stars Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Raveena Tandon in the lead roles, along with Naseeruddin ...

'' (1994), the soundtrack album of which sold more than 8million units. In turn, "Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast" was remade as "Cheez Badi" for the 2017 film '' Machine''.

References

{{authority control 13th-century poems 13th-century songs 18th-century poems 18th-century songs 1956 songs 1969 songs 1991 songs Islamic music Junoon (band) songs Lal Shahbaz Qalandar Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan songs Pakistani folk songs Indian songs Qawwali songs Sindhi-language songs Year of song unknown Sufi songs Rahat Fateh Ali Khan songs Runa Laila songs Punjabi-language songs Urdu-language songs Neha Kakkar songs Mika Singh songs Kavita Krishnamurthy songs