What comes to your mind when you hear the term ‘Sufi’? Esoteric whirling dervishes, sacred saints or Abida Parveen? Well, Sufism seems to be the flavour of the moment. From Kailash Kher’s music to Manish Malhotra’s designs, everything seems to have a Sufi influence.
“Sufism has been in existence in the communication arts for a long time now. The trend is definitely spreading but doing it just as a fad makes no sense,” says director/designer Muzaffar Ali who is working on a script on the works of the Sufi poet Rumi.
According to him, even Rabindranath Tagore and Raja Ram Mohan Roy were influenced by the tenets of Sufism. “You need to have the passion to follow it, be it music or any other art,” he says.
Sufism can be traced back to the 8th century, when Sufis were known as individuals trying to connect with God without following any particular religion. It produced a large body of poetry, with poets like Bullehshah and Rumi Amir Khusro being hailed as the icons of Sufism. “Sufism means eternal love. You can see madness in a pure Sufi’s work — be it music, painting or any other art,” says singer Kailash Kher.
Though he is now known more for playback singing, Kailash denies diverting from his Sufi style of singing. “You have to constantly evolve. I cannot restrict my music to a dargah by using only a tabla and a harmonium. But dressing in a jeans and a t-shirt and yelling at the top of your voice doesn’t make you a Sufi singer.”
For lyricist Prasoon Joshi, the concept of Sufism is very contemporary. “Sufism suspends the idea of logic. Today, the world is moving towards individualism; the herd mentality is slowly fading. It caters to people who do not believe in religion but feel the existence of a supreme power. I think it caters to the youth. It’s like hip-hop which talks about existence and not about change.”
As far as fashion goes, Manish Malhotra’s collection for Lakme Fashion Week showed Sufi influences. “A friend of mine introduced me to Sufi music, which I find very soulful. For LFW, my collection was a complete package of free-flowing whites with Sufi sounds to go with it,” he says, adding, “though I’m not sure if it will catch on as a trend.”
k_shridevi@dnaindia.net
