Indo-Pak come together for a Sufi night

Singers enthraled the audience with their mesmerising Sufi songs

Sufi music lovers, who showed up to listen to the majestic kalaams at Sindhi Sufi Music Festival, were mesmerised by the message of love and devotion to God as performers from India and Pakistan came together.

The two-day festival, an initiative of Department of Art, Culture and Languages and Sindhi Academy, ended on March 17 with the performances of Tufail Sanjrani from Pakistan and Kajal Chandiramani of India. The singers came together to display their shared heritage of Sufism, enthralling the music lovers with the kalaams of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.

On the first day, Sanam Marvi from Pakistan, Ghansham Vasnavi from Mumbai, Uma Lalla from Delhi and Namrata Pamnani, a Delhi-based Kathak dancer, performed for the audience, leaving them asking for more.

The Sufi poetry from the land of mystics – Sindh, brought alive the evening, endearing many to the idea of communion of the two nations.

Held at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, the event was intended not only for the lovers of the Sufi tradition but was also aimed as reviving Sindhi, the ancient language of the Sindh region that has inspired its own culture of art, literature and music.

“Sufi poetry has a very strong history. In fact, the ever popular Qawwali song Dama Dam Mast Qalandar had origins in Sindh. It is unfortunate that Sindhis in India are not aware of their rich legacy. Through this event we want to revive an interest in the language and provide a platform to nurture its culture,” says Sindhu Mishra Bhagia, Secretary of Sindhi Academy.