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Photo: Sandeep Saxena

SUFI SINGER Rahat Fateh Ali Khan

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's voice provides the relief we need in this frenzied world. "Sukoon is the word", he says. Sufi music is making waves, but the genre is being interpreted in myriad ways.

What is Sufi? "I believe it is the thought and the style. A sufi is a person who doesn't believe in any particular religion and loves humanity. That's why he is closer to Allah. Sufi is the voice which has masoomiyat... the innocence that connects you to the One above." What he sings in Bollywood is not always Sufi, says Rahat. "`Laagi Tumse Man Ki Lagan' is Sufi while `Naina Das Lenge' is not."

The purists hold Rahat and his uncle and mentor, the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, responsible for taking qawwali and Sufi music from the dargah to marriages and films. "I don't think the setting matters. It is the intent that matters. I still go to the dargah regularly and perform. I sing for Allah. If people feel that it is for the beloved, it is a personal choice. Some see Him in their beloved." He feels films have played a role in taking Sufi music to the masses. "Aaj ghar ghar main baj raha hai."

When I composed `Laagi Tumse Man Ki Lagan', I first sang it at a few concerts. Only after I got a positive response did I retain it. At times I drop my compositions if I don't get positive feedback. It doesn't mean they are bad."

His voice and compositions have been incorporated into the soundtrack of Hollywood films such as Four Feathers and Apocalypto. Rahat feels it's the music that strikes a chord with the audience first. "Words come later. Nusrat sahib had a following in Japan. His verses were translated into Japanese, but the first attraction was the music," says Rahat, who used to accompany him on tours from a young age. "I am still learning from him." Singing since the age of seven, Rahat represents a gharana which is around 600 years old.

Rahat will soon be seen as a mentor on reality show Junoon Kuchh Kar Dikhaane Ka on NDTV Imagine. The show is being touted as a competition among three genres: Sufi, Folk and Bollywood.

"He says he agreed to do the show because it's an opportunity to popularise Sufi music. "We generally don't see youngsters singing Sufi and folk music in reality shows. Here I would like my team to sing those Sufi songs which were once popular but have lost out to film songs."

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