Barkat Ali learned the rubaab playing from his father at a very young age and started performing for local Jamati gatherings in Northern Pakistan. Later on, he moved to Karachi for higher education. During this time, he performed at several Jamati and non-Jamati programs. He performed in “Meri Mosiqi” in Islamabad Studio and also performed on Ptv Karachi in the program “Naghma Zaar”. He has performed Burushaski Folk Songs, Sufi Kalaam, Ghazal and Geet. Recently, he performed on Ptv Karachi in a program with “Bazm-i Liqaa”.
Barkat Ali has not only performed nationally but internationally as well. A special program was organized in Dubai “Aik Shaam Barkat Ali ke Naam”, where he performed many devotional kalaams and other sufi songs. He has also performed in Canada in the “National Ismaili Musical Ensemble” during the Golden Jubilee year of Mawlana Hazar Imam. With this Ensemble, he performed at the Institutional Dinner in Vancouver in the presence of Mawlana Hazar Imam, and on the occasion of opening ceremony of Delegation Building of Ismaili Imamat in Ottawa Canada. Subsequently, he performed on the ground breaking ceremony of Ismaili Center, and Park in Toronto. He also had the privilege to perform at the Institutional Programs for the Jamati leaders and has had the honor to perform for the Jamat in all five Jamat Khanas in Calgary, Canada. In the 2011 Darbar in Tanzania, he was sponsored by Council for Tanzania where he performed at the Institutional Dinner in Dar-es Salaam and also had the opportunity to perform for Jamat in Mawanza, Tanzania.
He has also performed at the International Conference and Spiritual Concert at the University of Alberta entitled “Sounds and Spaces of Muslim Piety: Tradition and Transformation”. This program was hosted by Canadian Radio CKUA’s Lark Clark who said, “we would love to hear your voice and music throughout Canada”.
Following link contain 7 short videos of Devotional Music which was recorded during Barkat’s visit to USA:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWSg3TZetRPeZ7xkFfILpT-CxP5YskelN
