In sync with the soul
MANJARI SINHA
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The recent All India Sufi and Mystic Music Festival reverberated with soulful music.
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After receiving an overwhelming response in Mumbai, Banyan Tree Events brought Ruhaniyat to Delhi this past week, as part of the All India Sufi & Mystic Music Festival 2006-07. Presented at the Amphitheatre of the Garden of Six Senses Ruhaniyat featured fakirs from Hyderabad, mystic musicians from Kashmir, Sufi qawwals and folk musicians from Rajasthan, Bauls from Bengal, Sufi kalam from Punjab and Kashmir as "various faces of ecstasy... ."
The venue reverberated with the soul searching voice of Parvati Baul when she started singing "Janam Maran Hobe Nivaran Jodi Koro Mana Maran-Saadhanaa... " from the highest pitch of her unbelievable range. With the sole support of a single note on the ektara in her right hand and a small drum in her left, she mesmerised the audience with her deep conviction and musical spontaneity. The baul-sadhana gives her the strength and the alignment of the ida pingala that is required for this kind of singing, she explained when I wanted to know the secret of such a powerful mystic voice.
The Sabri Brothers from Jaipur are not heard very often in the Capital. The invocatory hamd, "Mere Maula" was prefaced with the traditional naghma and the sonorous alap of the majestic raga Darbari on which the composition was based. Their command on raagdaari was evident in the handling of the spontaneous improvisations of the verses. "Chaap Tilak", the eternal composition of Hazrat Amir Khusrau, came next as a captivating contrast to the melodious strains of Yaman, with shades of Tilak Kamod, Desh and Sorath. When I wanted to know more about their wonderful grooming, Haji Ustad Sabri, although trained in the classical tradition with the likes of the senior Dagars, humbly replied in a beautiful Urdu couplet: "Nasheman par mere bare-karam saari zamin ka hai; Koi tinka kahin ka hai, koi tinka kahin ka hai."
Zikr-e-Rifayi by the fakirs of Hyderabad had set the mystic ambience for Ruhaniyat when they opened the festival with zikr from the rifayi tradition, which originated from Baghdad. Hafiza Begam and her group from Assam sang compositions of Aza Peer in their Jikir Jari. Rana Khan Manganiyar from Rajasthan presented compositions of Mirabai and Kanwar Bhagat Loli, a mystic from Rajasthan, while Kachra Khan sang Sindhi, Saraiki and a stirring composition of Bulle Shah. The Nanak Manak brothers from Punjab presented Punjabi sufi kalam of Shah Hussain and Bulle Shah with the distinct flavour of the Patiala gharana. Kailash Mehra Sadhu from Kashmir sang lalwak mystic compositions of Laleshwari Devi and couplets by mystics like Shah Gafoor, Kadeer ju Saheb and Noond Rishi.
Such a feast of sufi and mystic music literally took the audience to the spiritual realm of ruhaniyat. They were glued to their seats even during the drizzle and braved the cold of the open-air amphitheatre.
Clarification
In response to the story, "Hearing is believing" carried in these columns this past week, Manjari Sinha clarifies: I totally agree `Hearing is believing'. I specifically went to attend Abhai Rustam Sopori's concert, heard his complete performance and I stand by my review. I do believe Abhai is a gifted artiste and I have written favourably about his earlier performances, so there is no question of any bias.
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