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Business News/ News / Business Of Life/  An ear for Sufi music
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An ear for Sufi music

The Capital will host a workshop on Sufi literature and music this weekend

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Enjoy live performances and screenings.

NEW DELHI :

“Of the four major Sufi traditions that one finds in India—the Chishtiya, Suhrawardiya, Qadriya and Naqshbandiya—the Chishtiya tradition stayed scrupulously away from power and court politics and was to become the most popular of the Sufi traditions in India," says New Delhi-based historian Sohail Hashmi.

On Saturday, Hashmi will deliver a talk on Sufism and the evolution of Urdu as part of a two-day workshop, “Understanding Sufi Literature And Qawwali", in the Capital.

Organized by Ektara India, a group of media and arts professionals, the workshop is designed as an appreciation course in Sufi poetry and music. The programme will include the screening of films like director Simon Broughton’s Sufi Soul: The Mystic Music Of Islam, Girish Karnad’s The LampIn The Niche and Urdu Hai Jiska Naam by Subhash Kapoor. There will be musical performances by Sufi scholar and singer Madan Gopal Singh, who will present the poetry of mystics such as Bulleh Shah, and Dhruv Sangari, a founding member of Ektara India and the Sufi music ensemble Rooh. Scholars like Singh and Hashmi will give talks on subjects ranging from Sufi literature in Punjabi to qawwali and Sufi music in north India.

“My focus would be on the history of Urdu—its evolution in Delhi, Gujarat, the Deccan, back again to Delhi, and then its spread—and the fact that the language was not patronized by the courts but grew amidst the people, cutting across religions and status," says Hashmi. “The inclusive, tolerant and non-denominational, non-religious ritualistic traditions of Sufism make it a potent force against intolerance and religious bigotry," he adds.

Sangari explains that while participants can expect to gain an appreciation of the nuances of Sufi poetry and music, “the workshop is not meant to ‘teach’ either music or spiritual practices". He adds, “Participants will be guided on where and how to find good Sufi literature and music in our midst."

The “Understanding Sufi Literature And Qawwali" workshop will be held from 26-27 July, 10am onwards, at the India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi. Fee, 3,000, inclusive of tea, handouts and audio-visual material. For details, email extacyin@yahoo.com or visit www.ektara.org.

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Published: 24 Jul 2014, 08:48 PM IST
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