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Festivalfever: Sound of the soul
By Afia Mansoor
People offer prayers five times a day, Lovers pray at all time, They
never let go of prayer, Even if they’re tied to the cross.
Saieen Zahoor’s melodious voice resonated these beautiful verses
over the strains of the ek-tara on a balmy summer evening at Peeru’s
Café in Lahore, recently.
The event was the three-day Mystic Music Sufi Festival by the Rafi
Peer Theatre Workshop (RPTW) and the timing was perfect. Never has
the message of Sufism been as relevant for Pakistan as now. But we
shall come to that later.
Those who have watched the RTPW repertoire would agree that their
acts are always well-packaged and aesthetic, even if it is the
smallest of events like the folk puppet festival. And indeed holding
such events now — in the face of monstrous recession and even more
monstrous insecurity — is a feat worth giving credit to. It was a
brave step on the part of the Peerzadas to put the act together
given that they had no sponsors and that their last major event —
the World Performing Arts Festival — was rocked by three blasts that
put a dent in the confidence of the participating international
performers and the families that flocked to the venue with little
ones in tow. Nevertheless, the RPTW managed to organise the Sufi
fest despite a refusal from even the performers of Muslim countries
to participate.
It was a treat to see the performances set against the pristine
white-domed backdrop. The venue is at the farthest end of Lahore in
the personal estate of the Peerzadas who have reserved it for all
their future events. It also seems that the decision of the RPTW to
buy their own lights, sounds, props and stage equipment together
with this estate some 10 years ago was quite wise for it now saves
them more than half the cost of organising events.
The festival brought together some great performers of Sufi music
and poetry including some new ones. These included Fakir Abdul
Wahid, Taj Mastani, Shah Jo Rag Fakirs, Akbar Khamiso Khan and Jamal
Din Fakir from Sindh; Saieen Zahoor, Surraiya Multanikar, Surraiya
Khanum, Rizwan Moazzam Qawwal, Iqbal Bahoo, Imran Aziz Qawwal, Ustad
Hussain Bux Gullu, Sher Miandad, Ghulam Muhammad Chand, Wahdat and
Hasnain, Chand and Sooraj Khan, Pappu Saieen, Goonga and Mithu
Saieen, Mehmood Farid Qawwal, Mansoor Malangi and Allah Ditay Lonay
Wala from Punjab; Akhtar Chinar Zehri from Balochistan and Zarsanga
from NWFP. However, disappointment for fans of Abida Parveen loomed
large as she couldn’t make it to the event due to a delayed flight
after her string of concerts in the UAE.
Some great performances at the festival were by Saien Zahoor who is
now a confirmed crowd puller. He sang Heer by Waris Shah, Toomba
Kehnda Allah Hu by Waris Shah and Maqaam-i-Ishq by Baba Bulleh Shah.
Pappu Saien with another dholia and two dhamalis veritably rocked.
The way he built his act to a crescendo and then let go to a slow
pace sent the audience to raptures. The Shah Jo Rag Fakirs were
another sublime and gentle act as they played their ek-taras to the
rendition of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai’s timeless poetry. It would
have been a good idea, however, if the RPTW had arranged for
translations of the renditions for those who could not comprehend
the languages.
For instance, I wished I could have known what the narrator said in
Persian during Pappu Saien’s dhamaal. The festival also brought some
fine heritage art to light with Ghulam Muhammad Chand who sang the
sacred Sikh hymns called Kirtans. Chand’s lineage can be traced back
to Bhai Mardana who accompanied Baba Nanak on his journeys and the
rababis who accompanied Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh.
I personally became a fan Surraiya Khanum at the festival. Listening
to her live for the first time was quite an experience. The austere
singer was extraordinary because she sang from her heart and chose
from the choicest of Sufi poetry gems in her repertoire. She started
with Baba Farid’s Mainda Ishq Vi Tuu and though no one can match the
Late Pathanay Khan’s magical rendition, she moved many with her
powerful voice. She graduated to Shah Hussain’s Maaien Ne Main Kinnu
Aakhaan and finished off with Baba Bulleh Shah’s Nee main Kamli Aan
which was simply entrancing.
The fact that the words of the great Sufi poets continue to
enrapture a multitude of people in the subcontinent and the world
proves that the message in the verses still touches a deep chord
within. The Sufis expounded hard inner work to remove the
fundamental veil (the ego) between man and his Creator, while
reaching his highest potential in the world. It must be noted that
the greatest of Sufi masters were also great scientists,
mathematicians, scholars of religion and science such as Imam
Ghazali, Ibn-i-Khaldun, Bu Ali Sina and many more. These men were
also devout Muslims who followed shariah, produced fine works of
arts and sciences and lived to achieve their highest potentials.
Though the subcontinent produced some of the greatest Sufi poets,
the people in this part of the world have sadly treated Sufism with
the extreme: either putting the Sufis on a pedestal of veneration
and following the science of Sufism as a ritual minus its essence of
clarified intent, courage, generosity and trust; or they have
completely abandoned it as shirk and opted for an orthodox
interpretation that is devoid of tolerance and humility.
As more mayhem ensues with each passing day, I wonder if our nation
will ever look inward and contemplate how their own muddled inner
cosmos has superimposed to their outer existence, if it will ever
have the courage to slay their inner demons and then confront the
outer monsters as a unified people.
1. Shah Jo Rag Fakirs
2. Taj Mastani
3. Pappu Saieen
4. Zarsanga
5. Surriya Multanikar
DAWN:Sunday, 17 May, 2009
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