An evening amidst the stars
Prominent stars from the entire music fraternity all across the world were present in Delhi to celebrate Sufi music festival this Saturday when maestros like A. R. Rahman, Sami Yusuf, Nooran sisters, Satinder Sartaj and Dhruv Sehgal put the stage on fire. The crowd swooned with the music and it was once again proved that music has no relation with cast, creed, religion and ethnicity. Be it the Nooran sister’s qawwali or Sami Yusuf ’ s international tune, the audience was equally enthusiastic about both. The event was held in Kalagram, Garden of five senses from 5pm onwards.
The instruments, the sound installations, the seating arrangement, everything about the event were extravagant and truly satisfying. Though, the ticket prices were a bit higher than what generally the music shows charge for. But then, when you listen to the melody pouring in to your ears, and the hot simmering cup of coffee accompanies the music, it is an experience which none of the music lovers will want to miss. Most of the musicians reached Delhi from different parts of the country rather should we say different parts of the world and were lodged in Andaz by Hyatt. Though, it was not the case with A. R. Rahman. He had directly reached the event venue some time before his performance. Accompanying him was his favourite percussionist Shivmani who himself is known for his powerpacked performance.
Though there were different kinds of music, but there were two things that stayed constant in the evening. One was the chilling cold and fog that had no determination of leaving the audience alone and the other was the dedication of the audience who sat through the evening with motivation and energy to listen to the music. There were different notes, different tunes and different types of music but there was divinity in all of them.
Manoh Muntashir, a wellknown lyricist, TV script and screenwriter, came during the short breaks between two artist’s performances. But it did not surely feel like filler time as his magic of words spread upon the spectators as he went on sharing some really interesting stories about Sufi culture and how love can be the path to becoming a Sufi. According to him, Heer- Ranjha, Laila- Majnu, Shahjahan- Mumtaz, AnarkaliJahangir; they all were Sufi at one point or the other in their life as they didn’t accept defeat while they were in the path of love.
A most common concept about any music concert is that it is a place where people come to listen to live music. But in this stance, that traditional notion has also been changed. Sufi Route arranged for interpreters who were able to describe the songs or the entire event to those with hearing disabilities. The evening was full of emotions, an ode to Sufi and more importantly an acknowledgement to the all powerful through music.
A MUSICAL EVENING WITH THE MAESTROS CELEBRATING SUFI MUSIC AND CULTURE THROUGH VARIOUS ART FORMS