by S. Ghilzai / Published on November 11, 2014
Nasrat Parsa was an Afghan singer.
Nasrat Parsa was born just outside of Kabul on Feburary 22, 1968. Once the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, Parsa and his family fled to New Delhi. It was during this time that Parsa started studying music. He trained under a classical Indian singer named Daish Pandi, as well as Ustad Monawar Ali Khan, who taught him instruments and ghazals. Parsa’s family finally moved to Germany, and settled in Hamburg, where a huge amount of Afghan refugees were already living, which gave Parsa a platform to start his music career. Parsa started performing at weddings and private parties, which earned him a lot of popularity. He recorded songs and gave concerts. Parsa typically played the tabla and harmonium, and accompanied the music with his singing. He played pop as well as ghazals.
On May 7th, 2005, Parsa was giving a concert in Vancouver for Mother’s Day. He got into a scuffle with some Afghans after the concert-because he did not play any upbeat songs-and one of the men punched Pasra in the face so hard, that Pasra fell down a flight of stairs, hit his head, and was left unconscious. He was rushed to the hospital and a day later died from head injuries. Many fans paid tribute to the singer by holding vigils in different parts of America, Europe, and Afghanistan. He was just 37 at the time of his death.