Under the sufi spell
20 Aug, 2006
Saints of the yore, who sang ecstatically in his praise, have left behind a legacy that is now reflected in everything.
Pure, selfless and spiritual, that's how many people define Sufism, the most esoteric aspect of Islam. Not suprisingly, therefore, for centuries its elements have inspired many a music tradition, art and even aspects of everyday existence.
The saints who propagated the message of the Prophet were called Sufis - a word derived from the Arabic tasawouf - that means to purify. They believed in driving their ideas home through the medium of music, for they thought it made it more easily communicable to the common man. That perhaps explains why music has been such an integral aspect of Sufism. Today of course, the movement is influencing other arts as well.
But in the age of Bollywood, is our understanding of everything Sufi confined to Ya Ali and Junoon? Singer Kailash Kher say, "Sufism is so sacred and pure that even though we have started to incorporate its elements in our music, we still have a very long way to go." He adds, "The level of purity that is normally associated with Sufi music extends beyond the realm of the physical to the spiritual.
Something that's vaguely like a qawwali, interspersed with words like 'Allah', 'Khuda' or 'Ali', and portrayed by clips of a scantily--clad woman, does not even come close Sufi music." Taking off on that, ghazal singer Jagjit Singh says, "Influence of Sufism in today's music is undeniable even though it doesn't stand as a genre by itself."
"Purity is the crux of Sufi philosophy," continues writer Sheherazade Javeri, who studied Sufism from guides in Egypt and other Arabian countries. An artist inspired by Sufism renders his art in the spirit of purity, "Like Rahman's music in Dil Se," chimes in Kailash.
Some Bollywood films, particularly those of the last five years or so, have been speckled with Sufi elements in terms of clothes, set designs and settings, "But there are not too many instances yet, to call it a trend," say filmmaker and artist Muzaffar Ali. "I have made several documentary films on Sufism, and am currently working on a full--length feature on Rumi, the great Sufi poet, but the audience in India who appreciates Sufi themes from a purist perspective is still very niche."
In fact Sufism in India is largely limited to the grassroots. "Sufi healing, for instance, is practiced mostly at the grassroot level, but since spirituality and traditional healing is now becoming a fad in the West, we too would like to believe that it is fashionable. But, therapeutic herbs and verses of Sufis have been curing diseases and problems since time immemorial.
It's just a question of marketing the concept more effectively" Similarly, fashion trends are also influenced by spirituality and religion, in India, thanks to an uprising in the West. "Robes that Sufis wore, their talismans and brass ornaments, and the coarse texture of their clothes are very much in vogue today," says fashion designer Neeta Lulla.
In countries like Pakistan, Turkey and Iran, many aspects of Sufism are being revived in a big way. The whirling dervishes tradition of Turkey is an example. Whirling dervishes are male Turkish dancers who don flared robes and dance ecstatically to Sufi music in a prayer trance. "In fact, dance was never a part of Sufi culture," says Sufi Kathak exponent Manjari Chaturvedi.
"However, inspiration comes from many quarters, and after meeting some whirling dervishes from Turkey, and many Sufi practitioners, I was inspired to dance to Sufi poetry and music with Kathak as the base." In India too, where the Sufi tradition has varied across regions - Sufi saints of Punjab wrote and sang in Punjabi, and those of Kashmir did so in Kashmiri - the government is now attempting to preserve the culture. One step in that direction is the proposed setting up of a Sufi museum in Panipat, and a cultural centre in Panchkula in Haryana.
"Later this year, I am working towards organising a Sufi festival in Hyderabad," says Javeri. "We will invite artists from all over the world including Abida Parveen of Pakistan. This move, we hope, will help people understand Sufism better, and also educate people about its universal appeal," she says. In fact, in India, at the Sufi shrines, there are more number of Hindu, Sikh and other non--Muslim devotees. "Some of the later Sufi saints even preached with examples of Krishna and Radha," says Muzaffar Ali, "so Sufism is not just confined to Islam in its spirit."
Saints of the yore, who sang ecstatically in his praise, have left behind a legacy that is now reflected in everything.
Pure, selfless and spiritual, that's how many people define Sufism, the most esoteric aspect of Islam. Not suprisingly, therefore, for centuries its elements have inspired many a music tradition, art and even aspects of everyday existence.
The saints who propagated the message of the Prophet were called Sufis - a word derived from the Arabic tasawouf - that means to purify. They believed in driving their ideas home through the medium of music, for they thought it made it more easily communicable to the common man. That perhaps explains why music has been such an integral aspect of Sufism. Today of course, the movement is influencing other arts as well.
But in the age of Bollywood, is our understanding of everything Sufi confined to Ya Ali and Junoon? Singer Kailash Kher say, "Sufism is so sacred and pure that even though we have started to incorporate its elements in our music, we still have a very long way to go." He adds, "The level of purity that is normally associated with Sufi music extends beyond the realm of the physical to the spiritual.
Something that's vaguely like a qawwali, interspersed with words like 'Allah', 'Khuda' or 'Ali', and portrayed by clips of a scantily--clad woman, does not even come close Sufi music." Taking off on that, ghazal singer Jagjit Singh says, "Influence of Sufism in today's music is undeniable even though it doesn't stand as a genre by itself."
"Purity is the crux of Sufi philosophy," continues writer Sheherazade Javeri, who studied Sufism from guides in Egypt and other Arabian countries. An artist inspired by Sufism renders his art in the spirit of purity, "Like Rahman's music in Dil Se," chimes in Kailash.
Some Bollywood films, particularly those of the last five years or so, have been speckled with Sufi elements in terms of clothes, set designs and settings, "But there are not too many instances yet, to call it a trend," say filmmaker and artist Muzaffar Ali. "I have made several documentary films on Sufism, and am currently working on a full--length feature on Rumi, the great Sufi poet, but the audience in India who appreciates Sufi themes from a purist perspective is still very niche."
In fact Sufism in India is largely limited to the grassroots. "Sufi healing, for instance, is practiced mostly at the grassroot level, but since spirituality and traditional healing is now becoming a fad in the West, we too would like to believe that it is fashionable. But, therapeutic herbs and verses of Sufis have been curing diseases and problems since time immemorial.
It's just a question of marketing the concept more effectively" Similarly, fashion trends are also influenced by spirituality and religion, in India, thanks to an uprising in the West. "Robes that Sufis wore, their talismans and brass ornaments, and the coarse texture of their clothes are very much in vogue today," says fashion designer Neeta Lulla.
In countries like Pakistan, Turkey and Iran, many aspects of Sufism are being revived in a big way. The whirling dervishes tradition of Turkey is an example. Whirling dervishes are male Turkish dancers who don flared robes and dance ecstatically to Sufi music in a prayer trance. "In fact, dance was never a part of Sufi culture," says Sufi Kathak exponent Manjari Chaturvedi.
"However, inspiration comes from many quarters, and after meeting some whirling dervishes from Turkey, and many Sufi practitioners, I was inspired to dance to Sufi poetry and music with Kathak as the base." In India too, where the Sufi tradition has varied across regions - Sufi saints of Punjab wrote and sang in Punjabi, and those of Kashmir did so in Kashmiri - the government is now attempting to preserve the culture. One step in that direction is the proposed setting up of a Sufi museum in Panipat, and a cultural centre in Panchkula in Haryana.
"Later this year, I am working towards organising a Sufi festival in Hyderabad," says Javeri. "We will invite artists from all over the world including Abida Parveen of Pakistan. This move, we hope, will help people understand Sufism better, and also educate people about its universal appeal," she says. In fact, in India, at the Sufi shrines, there are more number of Hindu, Sikh and other non--Muslim devotees. "Some of the later Sufi saints even preached with examples of Krishna and Radha," says Muzaffar Ali, "so Sufism is not just confined to Islam in its spirit."
posted by Amarjeet Singh at 1:41 AM
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