JOIN USIndia Foundation for the Arts is presenting ‘Farida, thuriya thuriya jaa...’, a musical performance by the ‘Mir’ musicians of Rajasthan in the city.
This performance is part of The Baba Farid Mir Project, supported under the ‘Arts Practice Programme’ of India Foundation for the Arts.
The Mirs are a music community based in the Pugal region of Rajasthan. Hereditary singers of the ‘Sufiyana Kalam’, the ‘Mirs’ have been known for their passionate and intimate renderings of the compositions of Sufi mystics such as
Baba Sheikh Farid, Sain Bulleh Shah, Hazrat Shah Hussain, Hazrat Sultan Bahu, Ali Haider and Khwaja Ghulam Farid.
They have been musicians of the common people, serving as mediums of devotion and harbingers of peace, hope and love through the ecstatic performances of the ‘bhajans’ and ‘vanis’ of Meera, Kabir, Gorakhnath, Baba Ramdev and Achalram.
Their songs are mostly in ‘Siraiki’, a dialect of West Punjab which has strong affinity with Sindhi and Punjabi.
In addition to their singing, the ‘Mirs’ are deft players of the ‘been’ (a kind of bagpipe) and algoza (a double barrel wind instrument).
Most of their compositions stress on love as the basis of the relationship with God, nature and other living things.
Those who will perform in Bengaluru are Nazru Khan, Abdul Jabbar, Antar Khan, Manji Khan, Bassu Khan, Mode Khan and Sattar Khan.
The ‘Baba Farid Mir Project brings together the families of Mir musicians and their patrons scattered across the Bikaner region, in an attempt to reinvigorate their musical tradition.
From October 2015 to December 2016, a core team of senior as well as young artistes, along with patrons, undertook a ‘yatra’ across the far-flung ‘Mir’ strongholds in the Bikaner region, towards facilitating musical interchanges, community interactions; and mapping of musical opportunities within cultural festivals and
events.
This interesting musical treat will be presented at the Open Air Amphitheatre, Freedom Park on January 23, 7.30 pm.
Entry to the event is free. However, for this event, an RSVP to joyce@indiaifa.org is required.