Sonam Kalra: One voice of faith

On Saturday evening when the voice of Sonam Kalra,a young Sufi singer,reverberated in the Guru Nanak Bhawan,it was pure magic that impressed Ludhiana. She sang lines from Bulleh Shah to Amir Khusro,Irish tunes to pure Punjabi Sufism.

While the definition of one religion,that one ‘voice of faith’,forced tears in some eyes,others just felt one God with closed eyes. When Kalra presented “mera ishq vi tu,mera yaar vi tu,mera deen vi tu,imaan vi tu”,the audience erupted in joy.

Kalra has received formal training in Indian classical music under Shubha Mudgal and studied various genres of western music — jazz,opera and gospel. “It’s all about presenting the idea of one God. I conceived this project when I was asked to sing gospel music to commemorate the birth centenary of Sufi Hazrat Inayat Khan at Inayat Dargah in Delhi. I wanted to create music that blends all faiths. I belong to Sikhism and people were curious to know why I sing gospel (music in churches). For me,God is always one.”

Introducing her unique troupe,she said my percussionist Mohit Sharma and flutist Rajesh Prasanna are Hindus,Alex Fernandes on the keyboard is a Christian,Amaan Ali Khan on the tabla and Ehsaan Ali Khan on vocals and sarangi are both Muslims. “With all of them,I am a Sikh,” said Kalra who is the granddaughter of the late Jagjit Singh Aurora who was the general officer commanding in chief of Indian Army during India-Pak war of 1971. “Is this not proof enough that God is one?”

Kalra and her troupe recently recorded their composition — Man Manam,originally a Farsi poem — for MTV Coke Studio which received widespread appreciation. The evening reached its peak when Baba Bulleh Shah creation Alfat In Bin Un Bin blended with Irish music,casting a spell on the audience.

The Sufi Gospel was the 92nd programme organised by the Ludhiana Sanskritik Samagam in the city.