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In his late 50s, Saber Ahmed Khan sings qawwalis, a Sufi form of music, at Dargah Yousufain at Nampally in the centre of the city. Saber is a third generation qawwal and visits shrines across the city to sing devotional songs.

“As we are artistes, we cannot offer money at the shrines, so we go there and sing qawwali in praise of the saint. In return, some people give us nazrana (gift),” he says. Saber is one of many qawwals who visit the Dargah Yousufain — also known as the Nampally dargah — on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

“There is a huge flow of visitors and we get between `400 and `600 in each sitting. It all depends on the mood of the visitors,” says Qadir Ayazzi, who also regularly performs at the dargah. The management of several shrines in the city such as the Baba Sharfuddin at Pahadishareef, Hazrat Jahangir Peera at Kothur near Shadnagar, and a few others, allow qawwals to sing on the premises.

Ayazzi says that they were also invited to small gatherings and religious events in neighbourhood. “But, it has come down. Now recorded music is played at functions,” he explained. The only good days for this tribe are the annual Urs celebrations when there is a huge rush and people, including the managements of the dargahs, pay them liberally.

Will his children follow in his footsteps and carry on the tradition? “It is up