Sufi

Bollywood composers are churning out chartbusters by weaving sufi’s melodious flavour into their songs, but what makes it so heart stirring over other genres? Kirti Tarang finds out..

Last year many songs trekked into our I-pods, in the hopes of winning our hearts. Some won; and then, they lost their throne to the new arrivals. But ‘Iktara’ from ‘Wake up Sid’ stayed. I wonder why? It’s not chic like Katy Perry’s I kissed a girl nor is it groovy like Black Eyes Peas’ ‘Boom-Boom Paw’. Yet, I loved it. So did the guy upstairs, who hitherto always gave me a headache with his loud psychedelic music. The question is how can one song appeal to people of such diverse tastes?

“The song has an honest appeal. Amitji (Amit Trivedi) and Javed Sahab created an intoxication typical to the genre of Sufi ghazal,” explains Kavita Seth, the mystic voice of Iktara. Oh yes! Sufi. It is the unique flavor of this genre which lingers in Seth’s voice and doesn’t leave us alone. This is not the first time; every time a song of this genre appears in mainstream Indian music scenario, we just get hooked by it and can’t stop humming it. Whether it’s Kailash Kher’s “Allah ke Bande” or Rabbi’s “Bullah ki jana main kaun”, Sufism always has a mesmerizing impact on us.

Kavita Seth delivered an unforgettable rendition of the heart warming sufi number, "Iktara" in the 2009 Bollywood hit "Wake Up Sid".

Guess what? We are not the only one, the Iktara enchantress went through the same phase too. “Growing up in Bareilly, gave me a chance to visit dargaahs. The qawalis sung there penetrated my soul and remained as a part of me,” she elucidates.

Indeed! The Sufism is penetrating. Today, Sufism has penetrated into the cultures of various regions like Turkey, Indonesia, Arab, Africa, Bosnia and even Britain to give us the New Age Sufi Music. Composers like A.R. Rahman, Pritam Chakraborty, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Vishal Bhardwaj and Salim-Sulaiman have themselves not been able to resist its mystical hymns and have often weaved in Sufi tunes in Hindi movies.

The Indian Scene

Mestro of Sufi - The late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Tabla-guru and Sufi singer Salim Allahwale informs that dargahs were the origin point of Sufi music in India. He refers to the text of kasas-ul-ambia (stories of ambias) and continues, “Ancient India was a land of magic and mystique. Although at that time Islam didn’t have high regards for music, Sufism became a spiritual branch of the religion. It became a path leading to euphoric unison of the seeker and God or dhikr (also transliterated as zhikr) through poetry and music.”

Mixed-up? So was I. Thus, Allahwale simplified. “Ever seen a village girl balancing five pots of water on her head, fodder for barn in one hand, a stick in another, walking through cobbled streets, chatting animatedly with her friends? No matter how engrossed she is in the gossip, the pots are well balanced. This is the essence of Sufi music. Embracing the world and balancing the connection with God.” Perhaps, this is the reason why everyone is able to relate to this music and it has won hearts across the borders.

This explains the reference to a superior power in every Sufi composition. “Qalam” Allahwale corrects me, “not composition.”

In fact, like we first have drinks, then snacks, followed by soup leading to main course and finally dessert; similarly, in traditional Sufi first Qol or qawali is sung, then hamd, followed by naad sharif leading to man qabat and finally ruhani ghazal. However, ruhani ghazals, qawalis and fusion are popular form of Sufi music these days.

Rahat Ali Khan has created some unforgettable sufistic verses

“This adaptability helps youngsters to relate with it”, quips Anuradha Singh, a Sufi-Kathak dancer of international repute, “and that’s why, Sufism is never old, its always hip.” Kavita Seth recalls on same lines, “When last year I performed at Mood Indigo, IIT-Powai, I was approached by the students exclaiming that the show should have been titled as ‘Rock night’ instead of ‘Classic night’.”

What lies ahead?

These days we find even college rock-bands trying their luck in experimenting with this genre. The question is: Does it work? “Yup!” informs Anshu Awasthi, a student. “Here (in Delhi) we have a rock band, Advaita, its lead singer often sings Sufi numbers too (and) it takes the concert to another level. Sufi rocks!”

Article by Kirti Tarang