CELEBRATING SUFI MELODIES WITH MUSICAL GREATS
It’s time for the 13th edition of the threeday JahaneKhusrau World Sufi Music Festival
Afestival that has universal love at its core and attempts to bridge the gap between varied cultures across the globe — it’s once again time for the much-loved Jahan-e-Khusrau World Sufi Music Festival in the city.
Founded by filmmaker and culture aficionado Muzaffar Ali, this will be the 13th edition of the festival, which will be held in the ruins of Arab Ki Sarai adjacent to Humayun’s Tomb. It will bring together musicians from different parts of India, the subcontinent and the world to perform in a seamless cinematic fashion.
This year, Jahan-e-Khusrau will also stage a unique twopart ballet, Yamuna: Dariya Prem Ka, dedicated to sensitising the world about the ecological damage to our water resources through the moving story of the river Yamuna.
The ballet, directed by Ali, connects faith with our delicate ecology, say the organisers, adding, “It aims to motivate today’s youth and draw their attention to those environmental concerns that have been so integral to our faith and culture since the dawn of civilisation.”
The three-day festival, starting today, will witness the ballet on the opening and closing days with a new phase of the Yamuna
unfolding its myth, her relevance today and the Sufi tribute to Krishna and his beloved river.
This year, Jahan-e-Khusrau will also include performances by artists Malini Awasthi, Shubha Mudgal, Hans Raj Hans and Kailash Kher, among others. They will be joined by an international music ensemble with poetry recitation by Murad Ali, and a group from Iran, to name a few.
“When there is harmony in the soul, there is harmony in words and that is the poetry of life. When I dream beauty, I see poetry through music,” Muzaffar Ali said.
Founded in 2001, in association with the Delhi Government, Ministries of Tourism and Culture, Government of India, and Indian Council for Cultural Relations, among other organisations, the festival came under the aegis of Muzaffar Ali’s Rumi Foundation in 2005.