Delighted to Do It

Staff Report, "Sufi Music Festival kicks off at Peeru’s Café" - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Saturday, May 2, 2009

Saeen Zahoor sings with passion, captivates audience

Lahore: The sixth annual International Mystic Music Sufi Festival kicked off on Thursday night amid tight security at Peeru’s Cafe with folk and Sufi performances.

Crowds of people were present in the spacious lawn adjacent to the cafe, where the stage was set for the performances of the Sufi singers. The stage was designed intricately and depicted tombs in the background to match the soul of the Sufi festival.

A wide area was left vacant in front of the stage. The open-air venue added to the charm of the festival. Security personnel and plainclothesmen were deployed outside as well as inside the cafe. A walk-through gate was also set up outside the venue to search people before letting them inside.

Zahoor’s performance
Saeen Zahoor’s performances stole the show on the first night and made the audience stand on their toes. Zahoor sang with passion and captivated the audience. The sincerity and the heat in his voice touched the soul.

Wearing a multicoloured dress, bright coloured chapal (shoes) and holding a musical instrument in his hands, Zahoor aesthetically danced during his singing.

“Sufism gives the message of peace, love and harmony. Listening and singing of Sufi songs provides the listener with an energy that curbs hatred and malice,” he said.

Goonga Saeen and Mitthu Saeen delighted the audience with their drumbeats. Hanging a drum in his neck, Goonga whirled in circles at rapid speeds. People cheered the performance.

Zar Sanga, Mehboob Farid Qawal and Fakir Abdul Wahid Jamal also performed and received the audiences’ applause.

Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop (RPTW) Media Director Tasneem Peerzada said in these days it was important to keep up the tradition of organising cultural activities and RPTW was delighted to do it.

She said Sufi festivals had their own circle of audience.

Food stalls were also established at the festival and people satiated their hunger by visiting them.