To Encourage Cultural Exchanges

By Rajesh Bhat, "Srinagar set to host Sufi music concert" - Meri News - New Delhi, India
Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Kashmir Valley is all set to witness an international concert of Sufi music and dance, as about 100 artists from Pakistan, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Syria and India are participating in this three-day historic event beginning from June 19.

It will be for the first time that international famed ’qawals’ from Pakistan, Amjad Khan Sabri and Pakistan’s reputed Ajoka Theatre Group are going to perform at Shere-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) convention hall, Srinagar.

The performing of internationally renowned groups of five countries in Kashmir is primarily to encourage cultural exchanges between various nations and ethnicities of the globe.

Since Kashmir has a long history of Sufi tradition, such an event, it is presumed, will go a long way in knowing each others’ culture and tradition, besides wooing tourists from across the globe, spokesman of Jammu ans Kashmir (J&K) Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, Dr Javaid Rah said.

On June 19, the event shall be inaugurated with a sizzling performance of Kashmiri Sofiyana music by Yaqoob Shiekh, the descendent of famous Sofi Gharana of Kashmir, headed by Ghulam Mohammad Qaleenbaf and followed by the performance of Radhika Chopra.

The main attraction of the inaugural day will be Sufi folk and dance performance by the artists from Egypt. On June 20, the concert will begin with the highly acclaimed artist from Mumbai-- Meeta Vashist followed by the Qawalli by Amjad Ali Sabri and a party from Pakistan.

The concluding day will witness three performances by the artistes from Syria and Uzbekistan followed by a famous play, Bulleh to be staged by Ajoka Theatre Group of Pakistan. This play depicts life and message of the Sufi saint Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah.

The programme will be a joint venture of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board and J&K Academy of Art Culture and Languages.