"Sultan-E-Qalbam:" Ahmad Zahir vs. Leila Forouhar

"Sultan-E-Qalbam" remains a staple in Afghan culture whether or not artists stay true to the original lyrics. Most of the time, they do not. I'm not sure whether this is specific to covers of Afghan songs, but artists always feel it necessary to change the lyrics. For most English-language songs I hear, this is not the case. Maybe everyone thinks they know better than Ahmad Zahir or that his words were inapplicable to today's cultural landscape. Whatever the reason, Zahir's songs remain influential no matter the tweaking. Leila Forohaur and Aref Arefkia's cover of "Sultan-E-Qalbam" is proof of this.



Leila Forohaur is an iconic Iranian songstress. Her musical career started in the 70s and lasts to this day. She's known for her dance and pop songs which are popular in Iran, Afghanistan and countries bordering the two. Forouhar and Aref's cover is also unique because of its success despite never having a studio recording. And this song was especially popular among Afghans because it covered Zahir, unlike Forohaur's usual Farsi songs. In fact, the majority of young Afghans I know are more familiar with Forohaur and Aref's rendition than the original.

This cover relies heavily on piano with other usually prominent instruments backing it up; the accordion and drums are sidekicks instead of the primary rhythm providers as they usually are in Zahir's songs. It is however, a wonderful duet between Forohaur and Aref, Zahir himself rarely had duets let alone one with a woman. Zahir's only song I can think of that featured a woman didn't even include his own voice!