Welcome to Sufi rock
Soulful evening
The festival was an amalgamation of Sufi and rock music played by singers from India and Pakistan
Delhi/NCR was recently caught in with Sufi fever yet again. A two-day Sufi fest, organised in Gurgaon, saw audiences mesmerised by the soul stirring Sufi music. Organised by Gurgaon’s LempBrew Pub and Kitchen, the festival saw an interesting and impressve lineup of artists featuring Niazi and Nizami Brothers; a Sufi ‘rock’ act by Band Nasha, Suhail Yusuf Khan (of Advaita) and Adi and Sabri Brothers.
A mystical journey of live performances by Sufi bands and qawwals showcased the culture, beauty and poetry of Sufism. The maestros of Sufi with a progression from traditional to contemporary artistes, created an atmosphere of spirituality coupled with wholesome entertainment.
The world-renowned qawwals Niazi and Nizami brothers and Band Nasha left the audience spellbound. Qadar Niazi, who is one of the most famous qawwali singers, who has trained in aastana gayaki as well is a known name in the modern qawwali tradition says, “Sufi is a soulful. It is for everyone. People of all age groups listen to this genre now. This festival organised in a pub is full of youngsters. That itself is proof that even the ‘Bollywood generation’ loves it.”
Qadar, the son of Ustad Inam Ahmed Khan, has done sung for Khosla Ka Ghosla and telefilm Kanjoos. He also sings in other languages besides Hindi and includes in his repetoire Arabic, Persian and Urdu.
Akhil with band Nasha is a Delhi-based Sufi Rock band which was formed in November 2009. They play soulful music in a modern contemporary rock version. Their is a kind of music which is popular among the masses and includes Bollywood’s hit numbers in their own style.
How come there are so many Sufi lovers now? Akhil the lead singer of the band says,
“Everyone has his own definition of Sufi. For us, Sufi is something that comes from the soul. I have never learnt music but I have grown up listening to the songs of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Reshma. Sufi just connects you to God. And the way people have started accepting it and loving it, is just amazing. From the time I stepped into Sufi till today, there has been a significant rise in the number of Sufi fans.”
LempBrew has already shared its stage with artists like Midival Pundits, Syncopation, Hari and Sukhmani, Hard Kaur and several others and this time turned towards Sufi.
