Sufi takes a route to Delhi

Saturday, November 18 will see AR Rahman, along with some other respected names from the music fraternity coming together to perform at Qutub Minar for an evening of Sufi music, poetry, and folk performances.

The Sufi Route, by Friday Filmworks, INvision Entertainment and Invloed Matrix, established to encourage and nurture a holistic alternate music experience, is hosting its first ever concert in the Capital. It is bringing to the fore artists such as the magical Sufi singing duo Nooran sisters, the super talented folk and Sufi singer from Bikaner Mukhtiyar Ali, the ever smiling Punjabi Sufi singer Hans Raj Hans, the soulful Sufi singer Dhruv Sangari, well –known poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar, the young and talented lyricist and writer Manoj Muntashir, Urdu poet Kaamna Prasad, and one of the few women story tellers in the oral tradition of Dastangoi, Fauzia Dastango. To add to the magical night, The Whirling Dervish Ceremony from Turkey will also be performing at Sufi Route.

To conclude the evening, AR Rahman will be performing at the grand finale.

Speaking at The Sufi Route press meet and announcing the festival, Oscar winning music maestro A R Rahman said, "For me, Sufi means destroying the evil in your heart. I am grateful to the organizers for this concert. This is something I cherish very closely. The need of the time is that spirituality and love which Sufi gives should be shared in humanity. "

Sufi music is an expression of peace, freedom and diversity. The concert is unlike any other that India has witnessed in a long time, in many aspects. The Sufi Route is the first Sufi festival in India, as an ode to the origins of the genre. It is also the only time in recent memory that two ancient and culturally rich roots of Sufi music – Turkish Tasawuf and Indian Sufism – are blending together on this scale.

The promoters of this 'music led peace festival' have designed the event to be age agnostic and welcoming to anyone with an ear for alternative music and poetry. They have also created The Sufi Route to be a travelling, global platform, with plans for Indian artists to have an encore in Turkey in the next edition, followed by concerts in UK and UAE.

The tickets are available at insider.in and the festival will go on between 1 pm and 10 pm on November 18.