The Growth Of Sufi Music-Curve Asia - South Asian Arts & Entertainment

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Parts of Europe and America besides the rest of the world have awakened to the fusion forms of Sufi music today, which also offers an alternate way to attain mental peace. This deviation has come under a lot of criticism from purist Sufi musicians who consider changing around the vintage, traditional essence of a spiritual ‘ibaadat’ (prayerful form) of music nothing short of materialism and commercialism. However, there is really no denying that it is this “very playing around with the expansive range of Sufi music” that has enabled this beautiful and soulful musical wonder of mystical lyrics and abiding melody to not only make an entry into many hearts all over the world, but also spurred the growth of Sufi music which may have died out otherwise.

Some causes for Sufi music having lost a certain appreciation for its genre include lack of patronage and talent since it is a fact that any form of art requires both appreciation and audience to thrive.

Thus, in a way, the ‘negative’ cross-development of other branched out categories of Sufi music have only worked to the advantage of a Divine hymnal core that’s contained in the heart of an intensely pure musical form with only added emphasis to it that has been blessed with new-age innovations (and marketing besides technological support that allows for better communication thanks to advanced IT structure in the world today) which have allowed Sufi Music to be packaged in a popular way and also come out of the highly structured genre like that of Qawwali, regional genres (like kafi) and still maintain a religious ethos.

So, even if this is was more distinctively divine in the days of its origin, i.e. when Hazrat Moinnudin Chishti, Hazrat Khwaja Bakhtiar Kaki, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Baba Farid and Amir Khusrau - all the greats of Sufi poetry – were at the fore, it is a reality that Sufi music today (and all their efforts) is being honoured today, even after they are long-dead – via these constant efforts by young contemporary believers of music with a soul – because that is what Sufi music actually is best described as!!

Therefore, in a relatively new and small nation like Bangladesh, there is an devoted following of Sufi musician, Lalon’s songs and the singer being attributed with ‘blessing’ the listeners with “the most spiritual form of music,” while Pakistanis and foreigners in far-removed parts of the world too, consider contemporary singers hailing from this largely battle-worn but intensely God-fearing country, e.g. Farida Parveen and Shamir Hossain as nothing short of Sufi singing sensations!

Similarly, contemporary Sufi singers like Chondona Majumdar or Mamun Nadia have admirers all over the country as did their traditional counterparts like Shah Nur, Radha Raman and Jalal Uddin Kha, all of whom were renowned among the old school of spiritual music that was associated with the greatest voices ever born to spread the message of Divine Mysticism contained in traditional Sufi music and associated wiwtht eh Dargah of Shahjalal, in greater Sylhet region. This dargah is undoubtedly the most influential and pure form of Sufi music even today.

Besides the growth of Sufi music in parts of Europe, America and other parts of South East Asia, there has also been a parallel development within its main frame i.e. forms of Sufi music with Nadia, Kushtia and Manikganje gharanas (houses) granting newer forms, like Maijbhandari and Baisnob songs that also spread a spiritual message and fall under the category of Sufi music.

So, music with spiritual essence is mainly on the rise thanks to Sufi singers like Abida Parveen, Allan Fakir, Badar Ali Khan and the (late) maestro, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan whose video ‘Afreen Afreen’ (starring Indian super-model, Lisa Ray in Rajasthani desert backdrop) caused a visual and musical revival to the presentation of Sufi music that also incorporated mortal feelings of love along side a union with the Divine, no less credit goes to musicians such as Madih, Aziz Mian, UK based Rabbi Shergill, the Sufi singing duo of Sabri Brothers, Sain Zahoor and many others devotedly sharing of their talents to reign peace in the hearts of a growing global audience in the 21st century.

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