From marsiya and soz to majlis, how Shia devotional traditions helped shape Pakistan's vocal heritage Growing up, many of my closest friends were Shia. I never sought them out for that reason; it simply kept happening—in college, at university, at work, and later among the musicians and friends who became part of my grown-up life. And every one of them, at some point, without being asked, could sing. Not casually. Properly. They knew where a note sat before they opened their mouths. During Muharram, some of them would disappear into marsiya khwani, soz khwani, noha reciting, reciting for hours in gatherings. I was invited to these gatherings, but never quite belonged to them. I filed it away for years as a curious coincidence. It wasn't until a teacher of mine, Syeda Arooj Zehra Rizvi, sent me an Instagram post mentioning something called "Hussaini Raag" that I sat down to find out whether the pattern I'd been noticing my whole life had a name, a history, and any truth to it.
Published: July 26, 2026 4:51 am
Source: The Express Tribune — Read original