Madness about your Beloved

By Chandreyee Chatterjee and Abhisek Banerjee - The Telegraph - Calcutta,India

Tuesday, December 26, 2007

Calcutta warmed up for a week of partying last Saturday with Beyond Barriers Chapter VIII, a musical extravaganza organised by the St Xavier’s College (Calcutta) Alumni Association and RPG Enterprises in association with The Telegraph.

The programme kicked off with performances by a few alumni members. An 8,000-strong crowd, including students, parents, alumni, working executives and industrialists, had turned up.

Earlier, Xaverians had had to postpone the college’s annual fest Xavotsav because of a 48-hour bandh call. The zestful event line-up on Saturday evening made up for the disappointment as they danced to Bollywood numbers on the college grounds.

Before the stars of the evening took the stage, the college principal, Father P.C. Matthews, greeted the audience for Christmas.

The association handed over a cheque of Rs 25 lakh to the principal towards development of the second campus of St Xavier’s College, which is coming up off the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.
“Kailash signifies satyam and shivam, Ujjaini, from our own city, is sundaram. So today, we have satyam, shivam sundaram and nothing beyond, ‘Nihil Ultra’,” said the principal, introducing the two singers for the night, Kailash Kher and Ujjaini Mukherji.

Up first was Ujjaini, the winner of Ek Main Ek Tu, the musical talent hunt on Zee TV. She performed for 45 minutes with chartbusters like the title track of the film Golmaal, It’s the time to disco from Kal Ho Naa Ho and Salaame from Dhoom.

But it was Kher and his band Kailasa who stole the show. The sufi singer walked on to the stage rendering the title track from Mangal Pandey — The Rising. He followed it up with other hits from his album Kailasa such as Tauba tauba and Teri deewani.

The hour-and-a-half-long show ended after the singer had given in to popular demand and sung two songs after Allah ke bande.
(by Chandreyee Chatterjee)

Sufi from Bollywood

A dynamic self-driven singer who has trained under 15 gurus, Kailash Kher comes across as a humble person despite the success of his works in Main Hoon Na, Fanaa and Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II.

Who helped you get established in the music industry?I struggled the first few years of my career in the jingles industry. A lot of people have influenced me as a singer and as an individual. I owe a lot to my 15 gurus, especially Guru Pandit Kumar Gandharva.

Have you changed after Allah ke bande happened?
I don’t get attracted to material things. I still lead a simple life of a sufi. With the blessings of my parents and the Almighty I have carved a niche for myself in the music industry.

Where do you see yourself five years from now?I believe in destiny. Whatever I sow today I will reap tomorrow. I am a public figure so after five years I will be where my fans place me. My album Kailasa is a milestone of my life.

How did you like Calcutta?
It was wonderful performing here. I enjoyed myself. I would urge budding singers to work hard as nothing comes easy in life. Learn from Tagore’s famous song Jodi tor daak shune keu na ashe, tobe ekla cholo re…

How different are Sufi songs now from what they were traditionally?The basic thing remains the same, only the style changes. You have to serve the traditional dishes in a new form to attract the youth. I am a bridge between the traditional and Bollywood.

What is Sufism for you?
Madness about your beloved, passion that goes beyond all barriers and becomes pure and out of this world such that there is nothing beyond… Nihil Ultra, that is what Sufism is.
( by Abhisek Banerjee)