MUMBAI: The National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) presents the ninth edition of its annual Sufi festival – Sama’a: The Mystic Ecstasy. The three day long festival will showcase sufi music traditions practiced in different regions of the world through myriad genres.
Sufi music seeks to unite listeners with the Divine. The pain of separation from the Creator is at the core of Sufi lyrics and music. The longing floats to dissolve the physical realm and transcend into the spiritual Universe with Sama’a, the practice of listening to music, chanting and whirling, finally culminating into spiritual ecstasy.
According to NCPA Programming (Indian Music) Dr. Suvarnalata Rao, ‘’Sama’a has been an attempt to develop a fine understanding of a genre so diversified and pure to its value that it makes the listeners experience the true mysticism of Sufism. Through Sama’a, we look forward to delve our audiences into a precinct of spiritual ecstasy complete with songs, dance and music.’’
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The festival will open with a qawwali and ghazal presentation by Munawwar Masoom from the traditional Sufi repertoire of Amir Khusrau and other legendary sufi poets. The group is known to be from the musical lineage of Mewati and will be presenting its robust and energetic expressions which will bring to life the works of celebrated Sufi mystics. Be it ghazal or qawwali, the groups interactive style will focus on the beauty of lyrics, explaining to the audience various shades of meaning of the poetry, and the overall spirit of the work.
Sufiana songs on day two by Kailash Kher and his band Kailasa. Kailash Kher is a preeminent Indian folk musician characterized by his earthy soulful voice. Kailash Kher’s presentation in Sama’a will include a bouquet of Sufiana compositions from traditional repertoire and also songs based in Bollywood.
The festival closes with a documentary screening of Sufi Soul –The mystic Music of Islam written and presented by William Dalrymple. The documentary will further explore different forms of Sufi music across the world highlighting Sufi music in action from regions such as Syria, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Morocco and Senegal. The screening would be followed by a night where Israel meets India with Hebrew poetry, qawwali and Rajasthan Folk presented by Shye Ben Tzur and The Rajasthan Express.
The collaboration will further curate a performance based on exploration of the boundaries of qawwali with its presentation in Hebrew, Hindi and Urdu, accompanied by traditional as well as some Western instruments.
Schedule:
Date: 10 November 2017
Performance: Sufi Qawwali and Ghazal by Munawwar Masoom and Group
Venue: The Experimental Theatre
Time: 6.30pm
Date: 11 November 2017
Performance: Sufiana songs by Kailash Kher
Venue: Jamshed Bhabha Theatre
Time: 7.30pm
Date: 12 November 2017
Performance: Sufi Soul –The mystic Music of IslamA Documentary written and presented by William Dalrymple
Venue: Godrej Dance Theatre
Time: 5.00pm
Date: 12 November 2017
Performance: Shye
Venue: Tata Theatre
Time: 7.00pm
