Culture Desk
Under the title “Sufi Evening”, Indian troupe Roohani Sisters, comprising Jagriti Luthra and Neeta Pandey, rendered diverse traditional music genres at National Art Gallery auditorium of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on February 26.The multitalented classical artistes rendered qawwali, bhajans ,ghazals, kajri, chaiti and sufiana kalam at the musical soiree.
It was organised by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor was present at the event as the chief guest. Liaquat Ali Lucky, director general of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy was also present as guest. The guests talked about the sufi songs and its varied aspects. Through the genre of songs, audience could feel the presence of Almighty, spirituality and a divine life.
Sufi music is the devotional music of the Sufis, inspired by the works of Sufi poets, like Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah, Amir Khusrow and Khwaja Ghulam Farid. Qawwali is the most well known form of Sufi music, and is most commonly found in the Sufi culture in South Asia. However, music is also central to the Sema ceremony of the whirling dervishes, which is set to a form of music called Ayin, a vocal and instrumental piece featuring Turkish classical instruments such as the ney. The West African gnawa is another form, and Sufis from Indonesia to Afghanistan to Morocco have made music central to their practices. Some of the Sufi orders have taken an approach more akin to puritan forms of Islam, declaring music to be unhelpful to the Sufi way.
Earlier, the troupe performed at the Sufi Music Festival held at the open stage of the academy. The show started with presentation of Amir Khusrow’s famous song Man Kuntu Maola.
The trope ended up the soiree with presentation of well-known Sufi song Dama Dam Mast Qalandar, written by Amir Khusrow.
The troupe had earlier participated at various international festivals in India, including, Delhi International Art Festive, Bangalore International Art Festival, Nagaur Festival in Rajasthan and Sufi Music Festival in Ajmer.
