Songs for the Soul

Wind blew! The sand enveloped the body/Whatever little life left is to see the beloved, reads an 18th century couplet about a sufis love for god,by legendary Sindhi mystic Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. Amid a spate of numerous sufi music performances held in the Capital lately,this introductory note precedes yet another. The Sindhi Sufi Music Festival,organised by Delhi Governments Department of Art,Culture amp; Languages and Sindhi Academy,brings together sufi singers from India and Pakistan to showcase the sufi culture of the Sindh province of Pakistan and celebrates sufi poets such as Bhittai among others.

Sufi poetry has a very strong history and tradition. In fact,the ever-popular qawwali Dama Dam Mast Kalandar has its origin in Sindh and its spirituality. 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 Bhagia Mishra,secretary of Sindhi Academy. The festival will comprise Sanam Marvi and Tufail Sanjrani from Pakistan,while the Indian sufi contingent will include Ghansham Vaswani,Kajal Chandiramani and Uma Lalla.

Sindhi Sufi Music Festival will be held at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts on March 16 and 17 at 5 pm. Entry is free.