Ahmad Wali is a popular Ghazal

Ghazal

The ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century...

 singer from Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

. He began his career in the 1970s, becoming popular in his native country before he was forced to flee by political upheaval in Afghanistan. He continued his work after resettling in Germany, performing throughout Europe and the United States.

Background

The son of a Police Commander, Wali was born in Kabul

Kabul

Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...

. He began exploring music as a Tabla

Tabla

The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...

 player at the age of 12, gradually expanding into singing. While a student at Habibia High School

Habibia High School

Habibia High School is a school in Kabul, Afghanistan, which has educated many of the former and current Afghan elite, including President Hamid Karzai and the country's most famous musician Ahmad Zahir. It was founded by King Habibullah Khan in 1903....

, he recorded a demo tape. This came to the attention of Radio Kabul

Radio Kabul

Radio Kabul is the official radio station of Afghanistan. The name Radio Kabul has been given to many different incarnations of the state-run radio station since the first radio transmitters were installed in Kabul in the 1920s....

 director Ustad Zaland

Ustad Zaland

Ustad Jalil Zaland is a veteran singer of Afghanistan's golden music era. He is also a poet and music composer....

, who wrote the song "Chashman -e -Abee" for Wali. This and the Wali-penned tune "Mah-ruye-tu" brought him to the public eye. Wali performed live in Afghanistan until after his high school graduation, when he joined an international performance in Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

.

Career

At that early stage in his career, Wali had not yet committed to life as a professional musician, and he enrolled in the Kabul Police Academy. He continued performing, however, and soon committed to music, being taken as a student by classical musician

Hindustani classical music

Hindustani classical music is the Hindustani or North Indian style of Indian classical music found throughout the northern Indian subcontinent. The style is sometimes called North Indian Classical Music or Shāstriya Sangeet...

 Ustad Sarahang

Mohammad Hussain Sarahang

Ustād Mohammad Hussain Sarāhang was an Afghan musician and best known exponent of hindustani classical music from Kabul Afghanistan. He was the second oldest son of the renowned musician, Ustad Gholam Hussain...

. He developed a following in Afghanistan, with frequent appearances on television and radio as well as live performances.

After the Saur Revolution

Saur Revolution

The Saur Revolution is the name given to the Communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan takeover of political power from the government of Afghanistan on 28 April 1978. The word 'Saur', i.e...

 of 1978, life in Afghanistan became difficult, and in 1980, shortly after the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union, Wali—then a well-known musician in his homeland—fled the country with a forged passport

Passport

A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....

. Wali's forged passport got him as far as India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, where he obtained a Visa

Visa

Visa or VISA may refer to:* Visa , a document issued by a country's government allowing the holder to enter or to leave that country...

 to Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

by faking an illness.

In Germany, Wali continued his career, performing there and throughout Europe and the United States.