Love in all its Shades

By Anita Sethi, *Jahan e Khusrau's magic Sufi music* - The Guardian - London, UK; Thursday, April 21, 2011

An ancient music whose purpose is to make listeners more gentle, the World Sufi Music festival was in England this year

The enchanting sound of one the oldest instruments in the world, a ney, or reed flute, is echoing into the candlelit air, while on stage a woman adorned in beautiful scarves spins, imitating whirling dervishes. Welcome to Jahan e Khusrau, the ninth World Sufi Music festival. Staged annually in India, this is the first time it's been held in England, at the Southbank Centre's magnificent Alchemy festival.

What is it about this ancient music that cuts across geography as well as time, inspiring artists all over the world, from Taken by Trees to Mercan Dede, Youssou N'Dour to the Master Musicians of Joujouka? According to Muzaffar Ali, the festival's director:

The essential thing about Sufi music is that it can bridge the gulf between east and west. The philosophy of [13th century Sufi mystic] Rumi is that the soul is universal. You can't confront Sufism with fundamentalism. It is a delicate thing, like the colours of a rainbow; you can't touch it or it vanishes. Its purpose is to make you more gentle and tolerant; beyond that it has no purpose.

Even if you don't understand the lyrics, the music needs no translation. Its great emotional force conveys love in all its shades, from the yearning for love to the anguish of love lost, from human to divine love, expressed in the impressively versatile voices of singers such as Hans Raj Hans and Azalea Ray, and in the haunting sounds of the instruments.

In Sufi Soul: the Mystic Music of Islam, a fascinating film screened at the festival, it is emphasised that Sufism is "peace-loving, pluralistic and tolerant", an antidote to negative stereotypes about Islam. Although Islamic hardliners condemn music as a distraction from God, forcing Sufis underground, music and poetry are intrinsic to Sufism. In the film, Mercan Dede explains how during his first gig, he put the sound of the ney against techno beats, and realised how the sound of the ancient instrument could reach any audience. Both the style and content of Sufi music cut across boundaries: the rhythms of Sufi drums, for instance, lend themselves to mixing with a variety of other musical styles.

The Sufi creed is to bring solace to the human heart and a few days spent at Jahan e Khusrau does indeed inspire a sense of fellow-feeling. When someone pushes into me on the tube ride home, I smile instead of scowl.

The Alchemy festival continues at the South Bank until 25 April.

Picture: Modern ancients ... Victoria Bergsman of Taken by Trees, whose last album was recorded in Pakistan with Sufi musicians