Your ticket to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the rest of South Asia
Some days back we posted a rendition of Husn-i-Haqiqi by Arieb Azhar, a superb and vibrant piece of music. Here’s another chosen by All Things Pakistan: Sufi singers Saeen Zahoor and Noori.
And read Sain Zahoor Ahmed on Sufi music and his mission at The Nation (via Pak Tea House).
In Lounge-Mint, Rabbi Shergill talks about the wellspring of his music and the importance of language:
While the riffs of rock music inform his musical thought-he idolizes Bruce Springsteen – Rabbi Shergill’s music is essentially Punjabi. The rhythms and cadences of the Punjabi language, and folk and Sufi musical forms are reflected in his original compositions. He feels strongly about language as a vehicle for thought-the bastardization of the Punjabi language and its homogenization, brought about by mass culture, upsets him. “Homogenizing language is tantamount to homogenizing thought,” says the 33-year-old, adding that using his own language-a dialect of Punjabi spoken in the Majha region, that he was exposed to as a child-is for him a form of protest against the homogenization of the beautiful, rich and diverse Punjabi language. Language, then, is a focal point in understanding and appreciating Shergill’s music.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan speaks to Anuj Kumar in The Hindu on his uncle, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, composing for Bollywood and Sufi music
He sings up to his name. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s voice provides the relief we need in this frenzied world. “Sukoon is the word”, he insists, as he settles for the interview. Sufi music is making waves, but the genre is being interpre ted in myriad ways. What is Sufi: the person, the voice, the verse or the music? “I believe it is the thought and the style. A sufi is a person who doesn’t believe in any particular religion and loves humanity. That’s why he is closer to Allah.” Can a voice be Sufi? “Of course, the voice which has masoomiyat...the innocence that connects you to the One above.”
He clarifies what he sings in Bollywood is not always Sufi. “‘Laagi Tumse Man Ki Lagan’ is Sufi while ‘Naina Das Lenge’ is not, though both of them have been used to suit the plot of the film.”
Here’s Rahat Fateh Ali Khan singing O Re Piya on this Youtube clip
