Legendary singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has revealed that there was a time when he did not even have money for feeding the guest and for his mother’s dialysis.
Speaking on the occasion of Eid, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan said that he has seen very difficult situations in life, it is not as if he has always had wealth and fame.
The singer said that now that he is financially prosperous, he still has a car he bought in 1991 and he wants to have it, because it encourages him.
In response to a question, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan said that today’s qawwals are earning their livelihood by singing the words sung by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, new qawwals have no knowledge of qawwali.
He said that only listening to Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan teaches a lot and the Qawwals take advantage of this and sing the words sung by him and declare themselves as spiritual disciples of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
He advised the qawwals without naming anyone that they should learn qawwali and also teach it to their new generation.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan said that he did his first solo show in Birmingham, UK in 1985, when he was young and people loved him as a child and student of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan but now he himself have made his mark.
He thanks God that Oxford University not only awarded him an honorary degree but also set up a studio in his name.
Recalling the past, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan said that Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan used to scold him for making mistakes but never raised his hand against him.
He admitted that he succeeded due to the prayers of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and his mother.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan said in response to a question that his first love is wife and he had married her of his choice, his in-laws were not willing for the wedding and he got the relationship with great difficulty.
In response to a question, he said that his son Shah Zaman is also learning classical singing following in his footsteps, he has become an expert in playing the harmonium.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan thanked for the fame and said that it is not that he had fame and wealth from the beginning, he also saw difficult situations.
He recounted an incident in the past when a guest came to him in the morning, when there were only two eggs and a loaf of bread in the kitchen of his house at that time. Didn’t even have the money to buy more.
According to Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the guests had come to give him an advance for a show and he got Rs 20,000 in advance for the first local show, which was the full cost of his mother’s dialysis for a whole month.
He said that there was a time when he did not even have money for his mother’s dialysis but God was gracious to him and his problem was solved.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan said that he can never be arrogant because of seeing difficult situations in life.