Qawali counts as one of the popular and traditional music of India. At the time of its inception, it was more of an Islamic way to sing and remember the almighty. However with passing of time, the theme for Qawali included love songs too; mostly it is heard in Hindi film songs.
It has a deep connection to Sufi music. As with the Sufi music, Qawali also intended to sing the glory of god. It was during the Moghul rule Qawali made its entry in India. And during this period, it became know to the people of India and later around asian countries. The mainstream population of India is more attached with Qawali in Hindi movies that have made a deep impact on music lovers.
Qawali is sung by both men and women with a high pitched, rustic voice. Even today the authentic Qawalis can be heard at various Durgahs around India. People, that partipate in Qawali are called Qawwals. There is a particular dress code for Qawwals. The men wear chudidaar with sherwani and a topi (hat), for ladies it is chudidaar kurta with dupatta over their head.
The most used musical instrument is the harmonium and tabla. There can be more than one person playing the harmonium and also tabla. These musicians also sing as chorus. In a Qawali the main singer would first start with a line, and the chorus will repeat it two, three times to get down to the profound meaning of the line. This way not only it becomes entertaining for the listeners but also easy to understand the meaning.