Where God Resides

By Amrita Chaudhary, ‘Inserting Allah into your song does not make it Sufi’"- Express India/Ludhiana Newsline - Ludhiana, India
Friday, March 13, 2009

Ludhiana: Associating Sufism with any one religion is against the very basic tenets of Sufism.

Underlining this basic fact, renowned Sufi singers Idrim Khan and Shakur Khan said, “Sufism goes beyond religion, caste, creed and border. For us, Bulle Shah, Nanak, Kabir, Sajjan Shah are all Sufis, as we all sing in the praise of the Almighty.”

The Khans, who belong to the Mangniar tradition of Rajasthan, will perform at Punjabi Bhawan on Friday evening along with well-known singer Barkat Sidhu.

The musical performance will be the culmination of a seminar on “Traditional Indian Sufism — literature and music”, presided over by historian Dr J S Grewal.

Dr Namwar Singh, Dr Madan Gopal Singh and Khalid Hussain will be key speakers at the seminar and will touch upon Sufism of various genres.

Speaking of the Mangniar tradition, Shakoor Khan said, “This tradition is similar to the Mirasi tradition of Punjab. Our sakis and songs are the same, though the language might be slightly different.”

“Sufi music runs in our family for generations. This tradition is now being passed on to our children as well,” he added.

Mangniar tradition is found mainly in Jaisalmer and Barember areas of Rajasthan. Owing to its geographical proximity with Pakistan, the tradition has found its way across the border as well.

Idrim Khan added, “Musical instruments like kamchal are very specific to the Mangniars.”
The singers, however, rue the fact that “there are no new Sufi kalams now”.

Remarked Shakoor Khan, “We sing what had been written decades ago. These kafis and songs are our path to God. The sad part is that young singers nowadays use the term ‘Sufi’ a bit too freely. Inserting an “Allah” into your song does not make it “Sufi”. It is the singer who is Sufi; whatever he or she sings reaches God. His or her singing touches the heart of listeners and the heart is where God resides.”

[Picture from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufism].