‘Sufi music is an inner journey’

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The ancient ruins of Arab Ki Sarai came alive once again as the 10th Annual Sufi Music Festival, “Jahan-e-Khusrau” opened to a packed audience at Humayun’s Tomb in the capital on Friday.

The three-day festival, presented by Rumi Foundation, designed and directed by filmmaker-painter Muzaffar Ali, not only hosts eminent artistes of the Sufi traditions from all over the world but also serves as a platform for emerging singers and practitioners of classical and modern dance form with Sufiaana music.
About the highlight of the festival, Ali says, “The festival has evolved over the years. Unlike last year, the festival presents new poetry, new compositions, new voices and performers. They have been carefully selected and rehearsed over the past year. The venue has been chosen for its proximity to enhance the sanctity of the festival.”
Ofcourse, the star attraction continues to be Abida Parveen, but the spotlight is also on rising young talent this year. Vidhi Sharma flagged off the festival with a beautiful rendition written by Shah Niaz, Jab Yaar Dekha Nain Bha and Yaar ko Hamne Ja Baja Dekh by Hazrat Amir Khusrau. Shivani Varma and Vidha Lal performed a beautifully choreographed Kathak number to Rajesh Pandey’s rendition of Aaj Basant Mana Le Suhagan.
The second day also had Pakistan’s singing sensation Ali Zafar playing along with Murad, with Italian flautist Andrea Griminelli, Mumbai-based singer Indira Naik, and Delhi’s Hindustani classical singer Vidhi Sharma.
About his long association with the festival, filmmaker and painter Muzzaffar says that he looks at the festival in many ways with the eye of a filmmaker. “I see this festival through the eyes of a camera with a sense of detail. It is the essence of the festival, the power of the lyrics and the music that makes it international.”
About his love for Sufi music, he says, “I have always been a poetry driven person and my films too have been either on poets or poetic. Today, I feel both the urge and relevance to celebrate the poetry of Sufi mystics who have held the subcontinent with love and compassion. They have forged a syncretism culture, which has given India its pride of place philosophically in the world as one of the largest secular democracy in the world. Sufi music is way of cleansing and purification.”
About the popularity of the Sufi genre, Ali sums up by saying, “The biggest barrier is language. Most of such music is in Persian and Urdu. I try to write it in Roman and translate into English. The youth must take it as an inner journey and not as outer body shaking trip. The ecstasy is that of the soul, and love is beyond the sensual and physical. I know the youth is capable of this experience. This is where the future of peace, pluralism and harmony lies.”

Jahan-e-Khusrau concludes today at Arab Ki Sarai