In some remote enclaves of the Seraiki belt, the venerable tradition of the 'Maaru' lives on; the use of the dirgelike melodies of the flute (sharnah, in seraiki) and the doleful beat of the war-drum (naghara) to gather together the mourners of Imam Hussain in the first ten days of Moharram. The particular subject of this post was recorded on the intervening night of the 8th and 9th of Moharram at Shujatpur, the ancestral village of the Langah Khans on the banks of the Sutlej at the southernmost tip of the district Multan. As is age-old convention in this exclusive hamlet of Azadars (mourners), the Maaru is played in the evenings of the 1st through to the 7th of Moharram to bring the community together for 'Maatam'. Maatam is organized chest-beating to the tune of a 'Nauha', elegiac poetry sung by a chorus of 5 to 6 Nauhakhwans, commemorating one episode or the other from the events of Karbala. On the nights of the 8th and 9th of Moharram, the Maaru announces the commencement of the 'Majlis', a gathering in which the 'Zakir' (speaker) employs the magic of words to bring alive the tragedy of Karbala in the imagination of the listeners. The final Maaru of Moharram is played in the deep afternoon of the 10th of Moharram, roughly corresponding with the time of the Asr prayer, the time of Hussain's martyrdom 14 centuries ago. This Maaru is different from all those played on the previous days. It has an eerie warlike rhythm to it as one would imagine playing in the background of medieval infantry going on the attack. The steady thud-thudding of the drum and the piercing defiance of the flute accompanies the 'Zanjeer-zani' (self-flagellation), the Azadars' tribute in blood to the fallen Imam.
The recording in question is the most elaborate specimen of the regular Maaru played in the first nine days of Moharram. The Maaru ensemble laid out beneath a tree at the Imambargah's gate includes the sharnah-maestro Ustad Ghulam Haider Mirzada at the primary flute, Bidani Mirasi with the supporting flute and Bachu at the drums. Through the length of the Maaru, Ghulam Haider plays the tunes of three different Seraiki Nauhas in the flute. He starts off with the theme of 'Aa Qasim tekoon mehndi laavan, tedi maut de sagan suhavan' (Let me henna your hands, O Qasim, for you must now wed death). An increasing volume of human voices can be discerned in the background. Azadars drawn to the music are beginning to gather around the trio of instrumentalists, chanting 'Haye Hussain, Shah Hussain' (O Hussain, our persecuted King) while doing symbolic Maatam. In the 6th minute, Ghulam Haider moves to 'Mekoon loago Hussain ahdin, maen laash Akber di chaee aandan' (I am Hussain, O people, and I bear my murdered Akber on my shoulders). Akber was the Imam's 18-year old son who is believed to be a spitting image of the Prophet of Islam. He was killed in the battle of Karbala by a javelin through the heart. Those who are familiar with the lyrics of this Nauha break into tears when the flute intones: 'Musafir han Madine da, maen te itni ghareebi hay, kafan bajhoon maen Akber koon, bunn de vich sumhai aandan' (I am a traveler, far from home; and so abject am I that I leave him unshrouded on the burning sand). In the 10th minute of play, the maestro picks up the tune of 'Zalim ve, mekoon Shaam di taraf na torr' (O cruel fate, do not take me in chains towards Shaam). The seamless transitions through the three Nauhas speaks volumes of the flutist's mastery. The lyrics of this third Nauha are even more moving, but in the 11th minute, a quick flick of the Langah Sardar's hand brings the Maaru to an abrupt end. The chant of 'Haye Hussain, Shah Hussain' builds to a crescendo as all those who had been silently relishing the beauty of the Maaru join in. At its peak, the chant ends as the crowd cries out in unison, 'Haq pak fazl e Panjtan, Ya Ali; Ya Allah, Ya Mohammad, Ya Ali!' The Azadars flock into the hall of the Imambargah for the Majlis to formally commence. The Maaru has served its purpose one more time. In 11 minutes, a sleepy hollow of scattered mud-houses, disparate clans and uneasy neighbors has been galvanized into a single-minded whole in the love of Hussain Al-Shaheed Al-Mazloom.
