

Qawwali music received international exposure through the work of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Aziz Mian and Sabri Brothers largely due to several releases on the Real World label, followed by live appearances at WOMAD festivals. Originally performed at Sufi shrines or dargahs throughout South Asia, it gained mainstream popularity and an international audience in late 20th century. Qawwali ( Punjabi: قوّالی ( Shahmukhi), ਕ਼ੱਵਾਲੀ ( Gurmukhi) Urdu: قوّالی ( Nasta'liq) Hindi: क़व्वाली ( Devanagari) Bengali: কাওয়ালি ( Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing, originating from the Indian subcontinent, and notably popular in the Punjab and Sindh regions of Pakistan in Hyderabad, Delhi and other parts of India, especially North India as well as the Dhaka and Chittagong Divisions of Bangladesh.
