The Pakistani Students Association held its second-annual Qawali Night on Saturday in Old Union Hall. A collaboration with the PSA at Cornell University, the event invited the campus community to experience devotional music and poetry with deep roots in Pakistani culture.

“Qawali is a soulful form of Sufi devotional music that originated in South Asia, blending poetry, rhythm, and emotion to express divine love and spiritual longing,” PSA wrote in an Instagram post. “Performed by a lead vocalist, chorus, harmonium, and tabla, each performance builds in passion and energy, lifting hearts and connecting listeners to the divine.”

The Sagar Brothers from Sagar Entertainment presented the Qawali music. An intern in PSA told Pipe Dream that Salman Naveed, president of PSA and a junior majoring in computer science, knows the musicians through a personal connection and invited them to the University.

“We aimed to do something much more than provide entertainment — we sought to do something that would bring individuals together on an emotional and spiritual level,” Naveed wrote in an email. “Qawali has long been known for bringing individuals together across backgrounds and faiths, and we believed it would be wonderful to bring this tradition with us to America.”

To capture the mysticism behind the music, the stage was adorned with candles along its edge, while fairy lights decorated the back wall in front of a black curtain. Mats were laid out on the floor in addition to chairs placed in an arc around the room for attendees to take a seat.

Before the performance began, guests were encouraged to take food, which included samosas, pakoras and noodles with vegetables. Drinks were also provided, with several choices of soda and water. Hamzah Mirza, vice president of PSA and a junior majoring in economics, acknowledged PSA’s E-Board and the work that went into planning their biggest event of the semester.

“I feel like a lot of the community here that are familiar with Qawali really enjoy it,” Mirza said. “So we want to give the best to them as well. A lot of times, people are away from home, and they can miss home, feel homesick, miss their culture. So being here is a way for them to embrace their culture, feel connected back to home.”

Once attendees were situated with their food, the Sagar Brothers finally began to play, blending hypnotic melodies with melismatic vocals. The audience clapped along to many of the songs, while other tunes encouraged many to get up and dance in front of the stage.

According to Iman Shahbaz, a senior advisor for PSA and a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience, many of the songs played are extremely popular among Pakistanis, especially those that prompted the most applause and dancing.

While the event was focused on Pakistani traditions, many pieces were sung in multiple languages, demonstrating the scope of Qawali music.

“Not only people in Pakistan and India listen to it, but also people who are from Afghanistan and other countries,” Maha Naeem, a senior advisor of PSA and a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience, said. “There was actually one song in the middle that was for people who are Pathan, who are from Afghanistan and from the northern areas of Pakistan. So the music in itself is very diverse, and it comes with different languages. It can be in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Pashto, etc. So it’s very culturally diverse in and of itself, and I think that’s what unites a lot of the Asian countries together.”

The night had a quick intermission for dessert, which featured gulab jamun and masala chai. While this portion gave attendees the chance to mingle, the entire event focused on both devotional listening and socializing.

Through PSA’s Qawali Night, attendees experienced moving cultural performances and enjoyed a sense of community reminiscent of home, bringing people together through culturally significant song and dance.

“I’m an international student, so I’m coming over here from all the way back home,” Nur Ali, one of PSA’s interns and a freshman majoring in business administration, said. “And I think it’s really cool to just blend with a lot of different people who aren’t exactly alike. We all had different upbringings, but it’s really cool to see different things that we all love. Everyone loves music, and Qawali is a music event, so you can bond over that. So I think it’s so beautiful and special to bond over things you love with people, even if they’re kind of more culturally significant to you or if they’re a bit different.”