By Nikhat Kazmi - The Times of India - India
Saturday, June 17, 2006
SRINAGAR: The litmus test seems to be over for Kashmir. It's time to bring back music, song and dance to the violence-scarred Valley. The five-day ICCR-sponsored Indo-Pak Sufi festival not only ran to packed houses in Srinagar, but managed to find an audience in the more intemperate climes of Baramulla and Pahalgam too.
While young boys swayed and danced in the aisles of Srinagar's Sher-e-Kashmir auditorium to notes of 'Mast Qalandar' and the young girls swayed in their seats — Pakistan Sufi exponent Bundu Khan was surprised by the response he elicited in Baramulla, a town which has been more in the news for terror attacks than for things that could be termed as rooh ki giza (food for the soul).
For Pakistani artists, the Kashmir experience has been an unforgettable one. As Bundu Khan explains: "Our age gets a 10-year extension when we perform in India.
You ask him why and he is candid enough to tell you that Pakistan has generally frowned upon music and dance. "Aam taur par, gane-bajaane ko haraam kaha gaya hai Pakistan mein (Generally, music and dance has been considered un-Islamic in Pakistan).
This is strange because Prophet Mohammed himself has given his sanction to music," he says. According to him, when Hazrat Omar objected to two girls who were singing in the presence of the Prophet and told them to stop singing, the Prophet urged them to continue.
"Everyone has a day of Eid. It's Eid for these girls today, he reportedly said. So any ban on music and dance is essentially un-Islamic," explains Bundu Khan.
He however adds that the atmosphere in the current regime is more conducive to culture and the Pakistan government regularly sponsors classical music programmes.
For the younger Naeem Abbas Rufi, who peppers his Sufi with the bongo, the drums and the electric guitar, the Kashmir experience was unusual too.
"I loved the mausam and mahaul here, he said, hinting at a non-literal interpretation of the weather and atmosphere. According to him, it's time to open up all boundaries between India and Pakistan in the field of art and culture because "Fan ki koi seema nahin hoti. Hamari zameen ek hai. Culture ek hai. Insaaniyat ki nazar se hum ek hain. Phir yeh deewar kaisi? (Art has no boundaries. We have one land. One culture. One humanity. Then why these walls?)"
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Indo-Pak Sufi fest enthralls Valley
By Nikhat Kazmi - The Times of India - India
Saturday, June 17, 2006
SRINAGAR: The litmus test seems to be over for Kashmir. It's time to bring back music, song and dance to the violence-scarred Valley. The five-day ICCR-sponsored Indo-Pak Sufi festival not only ran to packed houses in Srinagar, but managed to find an audience in the more intemperate climes of Baramulla and Pahalgam too.
While young boys swayed and danced in the aisles of Srinagar's Sher-e-Kashmir auditorium to notes of 'Mast Qalandar' and the young girls swayed in their seats — Pakistan Sufi exponent Bundu Khan was surprised by the response he elicited in Baramulla, a town which has been more in the news for terror attacks than for things that could be termed as rooh ki giza (food for the soul).
For Pakistani artists, the Kashmir experience has been an unforgettable one. As Bundu Khan explains: "Our age gets a 10-year extension when we perform in India.
You ask him why and he is candid enough to tell you that Pakistan has generally frowned upon music and dance. "Aam taur par, gane-bajaane ko haraam kaha gaya hai Pakistan mein (Generally, music and dance has been considered un-Islamic in Pakistan).
This is strange because Prophet Mohammed himself has given his sanction to music," he says. According to him, when Hazrat Omar objected to two girls who were singing in the presence of the Prophet and told them to stop singing, the Prophet urged them to continue.
"Everyone has a day of Eid. It's Eid for these girls today, he reportedly said. So any ban on music and dance is essentially un-Islamic," explains Bundu Khan.
He however adds that the atmosphere in the current regime is more conducive to culture and the Pakistan government regularly sponsors classical music programmes.
For the younger Naeem Abbas Rufi, who peppers his Sufi with the bongo, the drums and the electric guitar, the Kashmir experience was unusual too.
"I loved the mausam and mahaul here, he said, hinting at a non-literal interpretation of the weather and atmosphere. According to him, it's time to open up all boundaries between India and Pakistan in the field of art and culture because "Fan ki koi seema nahin hoti. Hamari zameen ek hai. Culture ek hai. Insaaniyat ki nazar se hum ek hain. Phir yeh deewar kaisi? (Art has no boundaries. We have one land. One culture. One humanity. Then why these walls?)"
Saturday, June 17, 2006
SRINAGAR: The litmus test seems to be over for Kashmir. It's time to bring back music, song and dance to the violence-scarred Valley. The five-day ICCR-sponsored Indo-Pak Sufi festival not only ran to packed houses in Srinagar, but managed to find an audience in the more intemperate climes of Baramulla and Pahalgam too.
While young boys swayed and danced in the aisles of Srinagar's Sher-e-Kashmir auditorium to notes of 'Mast Qalandar' and the young girls swayed in their seats — Pakistan Sufi exponent Bundu Khan was surprised by the response he elicited in Baramulla, a town which has been more in the news for terror attacks than for things that could be termed as rooh ki giza (food for the soul).
For Pakistani artists, the Kashmir experience has been an unforgettable one. As Bundu Khan explains: "Our age gets a 10-year extension when we perform in India.
You ask him why and he is candid enough to tell you that Pakistan has generally frowned upon music and dance. "Aam taur par, gane-bajaane ko haraam kaha gaya hai Pakistan mein (Generally, music and dance has been considered un-Islamic in Pakistan).
This is strange because Prophet Mohammed himself has given his sanction to music," he says. According to him, when Hazrat Omar objected to two girls who were singing in the presence of the Prophet and told them to stop singing, the Prophet urged them to continue.
"Everyone has a day of Eid. It's Eid for these girls today, he reportedly said. So any ban on music and dance is essentially un-Islamic," explains Bundu Khan.
He however adds that the atmosphere in the current regime is more conducive to culture and the Pakistan government regularly sponsors classical music programmes.
For the younger Naeem Abbas Rufi, who peppers his Sufi with the bongo, the drums and the electric guitar, the Kashmir experience was unusual too.
"I loved the mausam and mahaul here, he said, hinting at a non-literal interpretation of the weather and atmosphere. According to him, it's time to open up all boundaries between India and Pakistan in the field of art and culture because "Fan ki koi seema nahin hoti. Hamari zameen ek hai. Culture ek hai. Insaaniyat ki nazar se hum ek hain. Phir yeh deewar kaisi? (Art has no boundaries. We have one land. One culture. One humanity. Then why these walls?)"
1 comment:
-
Anonymous said...
-
In the company of Saints
My sons, Suleiman and Dawood, and I, also took bay'ah. This pledge of allegiance took place at the blessed grave of al-Sayed 'Abd al-Latif bin Muhammad Yusuf bin Qadi 'Abd al Rahman al-Habibi. Imam was nearing the end of his life.
A few days after Imam had connected us to the Qadiriyyah and Chistiyya salasil, I dreamt of myself sitting under the ground-floor balcony in the Masjid al-Haram. I faced the Syrian Corner of the Bait-ullaah, engaging anyone who was available for a chat. He was nearly upon me, when, from the corner of my eye, I noticed Imam Babu approaching. Imam put his right hand into my right hand and led me onto the mataaf. There, about seven metres away from and facing the north-eastern wall of the Bait-ullaah, were six regal-looking men. They were arranged in two rows of three – those at the back stood, and those in front sat on their shins and with their palms on their thighs. By their bulky turbans I could see that they were leaders of men. Some were younger-looking than others. So intent were they in gazing at the Holy Ka'aba, that they paid scant attention to us. Imam pointed me in the direction of the House of Allah and placed me directly to the right of those holy men who were standing.
Alhamdu-lillaah. I was in very good company and eager to draw from their barakah. That it was set in the Masjid al-Haram confirmed the soundness of the dream. Imam taking my right hand into his right hand (as opposed to our left hands) lent credence to its authenticity. I took it that the dream signified our acceptance into the Qadiriyyah and Chistiyya Sufi orders. Allah, The One Who Shows the right way, Had Guided us.
Did it serve as an indication that Allah The Most Giving would allow us to visit His Holy House once more?
About two weeks later, my friend and ’Ibaad-u-Ragmaan Qadiri Jamaa’ah elder Haji Achmat Lalkhen came to visit. He showed me a miniaturised replica of a painting of Indian origin. The original is called the 'Meeting of the Saints', the artist unknown. It is one of the most famous in Eastern art. At the top, centre of the picture, was depicted the Holy Qabr of our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (May Allah Convey His Peace and Blessings upon the Holy Prophet). On it also, were the awliya-Allah that I had seen in the dream. I was bowled over. The saints' names and their places of burial were on the print. They were, clockwise from bottom left, Khwaja Baba Farid al-din Mas'ud Ganj-i Shakar al-Chisti of Pakpattan, Punjab (d. 664AH/1265CE), al-Sayed Qutb al-din Bakhtiyar Kaki al-Chisti of Mehrauli, New Delhi (d. 633AH/1236CE), al-Sayed Gharib Nawaz Mu'ain al-din Chisti of Ajmer, India (d. 1230CE), al-Sayed al-Sultan al-Awliya al-Ghawth al-'Adham 'Abd al Qadir al-Jilani (d. 561AH/1166CE), Hadhrat Sharif al-din abu 'Ali Shah Qalandar of Panipat, Haryana, India (d. 724AH/1324CE) and Sheikh Nizam al-din Awliya al-Chisti of Ghiyaspur, a village outside Delhi, India (d. 1324). May Allah, The One Who Brought us from darkness into the light, amply repay these dutiful men for their devotion. Their story has contributed much towards the wonder of Islam and the lustre of Islamic mysticism. Their names are forever emblazoned across the Sufi sky. I am as the dust beneath their feet.
While those sitting in the dream were awliya-Allah in their own right, they did so out of respect, as those who stood were of the descendents of our Honourable Prophet Muhammad (May Allah Convey His Peace and Blessings upon the Holy Prophet). They reverently sat at the feet of the saadaat also, as at least two of those standing were their asatidhah.
The dream gave me some idea of the kindnesses that Allah, The One Who Allows without stint to whom He will, Provides to the righteous. This showed clearly that the approach of these friends of Allah was rock solid and that their salasil were watertight. It illustrated also, that Imam's khilafah was beyond reproach. Imam had been granted khilafat of the Qadiriyyah and Chistiyya tasauwuf orders by Shah Pir Hafith Pasha al-Habibi (d. 1989), the head of the Habibiyyah branch of the Chistiyya Silsilah, in Hyderabad, India, in 1988. The dream handed me an inkling of the stature that Imam Abdullatief “Babu” Parker of Habibia enjoyed in the next life.
I remembered that straight after we had linked into the chains of Islamic spirituality, Imam had held up to me the same caricatured portrait of only Sayed 'Abd al Qadir al-Jilani (May Allah, The One Who Opens closed matters to His slaves, Excuse them of blame). I had wondered then why he did that.
A large copy of the 'Meeting of the Saints' hangs in our home. I had bought it from Mr. Feroz Parker of Cravenby Estate. -
8:24 AM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
In the company of Saints
My sons, Suleiman and Dawood, and I, also took bay'ah. This pledge of allegiance took place at the blessed grave of al-Sayed 'Abd al-Latif bin Muhammad Yusuf bin Qadi 'Abd al Rahman al-Habibi. Imam was nearing the end of his life.
A few days after Imam had connected us to the Qadiriyyah and Chistiyya salasil, I dreamt of myself sitting under the ground-floor balcony in the Masjid al-Haram. I faced the Syrian Corner of the Bait-ullaah, engaging anyone who was available for a chat. He was nearly upon me, when, from the corner of my eye, I noticed Imam Babu approaching. Imam put his right hand into my right hand and led me onto the mataaf. There, about seven metres away from and facing the north-eastern wall of the Bait-ullaah, were six regal-looking men. They were arranged in two rows of three – those at the back stood, and those in front sat on their shins and with their palms on their thighs. By their bulky turbans I could see that they were leaders of men. Some were younger-looking than others. So intent were they in gazing at the Holy Ka'aba, that they paid scant attention to us. Imam pointed me in the direction of the House of Allah and placed me directly to the right of those holy men who were standing.
Alhamdu-lillaah. I was in very good company and eager to draw from their barakah. That it was set in the Masjid al-Haram confirmed the soundness of the dream. Imam taking my right hand into his right hand (as opposed to our left hands) lent credence to its authenticity. I took it that the dream signified our acceptance into the Qadiriyyah and Chistiyya Sufi orders. Allah, The One Who Shows the right way, Had Guided us.
Did it serve as an indication that Allah The Most Giving would allow us to visit His Holy House once more?
About two weeks later, my friend and ’Ibaad-u-Ragmaan Qadiri Jamaa’ah elder Haji Achmat Lalkhen came to visit. He showed me a miniaturised replica of a painting of Indian origin. The original is called the 'Meeting of the Saints', the artist unknown. It is one of the most famous in Eastern art. At the top, centre of the picture, was depicted the Holy Qabr of our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (May Allah Convey His Peace and Blessings upon the Holy Prophet). On it also, were the awliya-Allah that I had seen in the dream. I was bowled over. The saints' names and their places of burial were on the print. They were, clockwise from bottom left, Khwaja Baba Farid al-din Mas'ud Ganj-i Shakar al-Chisti of Pakpattan, Punjab (d. 664AH/1265CE), al-Sayed Qutb al-din Bakhtiyar Kaki al-Chisti of Mehrauli, New Delhi (d. 633AH/1236CE), al-Sayed Gharib Nawaz Mu'ain al-din Chisti of Ajmer, India (d. 1230CE), al-Sayed al-Sultan al-Awliya al-Ghawth al-'Adham 'Abd al Qadir al-Jilani (d. 561AH/1166CE), Hadhrat Sharif al-din abu 'Ali Shah Qalandar of Panipat, Haryana, India (d. 724AH/1324CE) and Sheikh Nizam al-din Awliya al-Chisti of Ghiyaspur, a village outside Delhi, India (d. 1324). May Allah, The One Who Brought us from darkness into the light, amply repay these dutiful men for their devotion. Their story has contributed much towards the wonder of Islam and the lustre of Islamic mysticism. Their names are forever emblazoned across the Sufi sky. I am as the dust beneath their feet.
While those sitting in the dream were awliya-Allah in their own right, they did so out of respect, as those who stood were of the descendents of our Honourable Prophet Muhammad (May Allah Convey His Peace and Blessings upon the Holy Prophet). They reverently sat at the feet of the saadaat also, as at least two of those standing were their asatidhah.
The dream gave me some idea of the kindnesses that Allah, The One Who Allows without stint to whom He will, Provides to the righteous. This showed clearly that the approach of these friends of Allah was rock solid and that their salasil were watertight. It illustrated also, that Imam's khilafah was beyond reproach. Imam had been granted khilafat of the Qadiriyyah and Chistiyya tasauwuf orders by Shah Pir Hafith Pasha al-Habibi (d. 1989), the head of the Habibiyyah branch of the Chistiyya Silsilah, in Hyderabad, India, in 1988. The dream handed me an inkling of the stature that Imam Abdullatief “Babu” Parker of Habibia enjoyed in the next life.
I remembered that straight after we had linked into the chains of Islamic spirituality, Imam had held up to me the same caricatured portrait of only Sayed 'Abd al Qadir al-Jilani (May Allah, The One Who Opens closed matters to His slaves, Excuse them of blame). I had wondered then why he did that.
A large copy of the 'Meeting of the Saints' hangs in our home. I had bought it from Mr. Feroz Parker of Cravenby Estate.
Post a Comment