Ali Zafar, Abida Parveen mesmerise at Jahan-e-Khusrau Festival

The three-day Jahan-e-Khusrau festival, designed and directed by filmmaker and painter Muzaffar Ali, and presented by Rumi Foundation hosted eminent artistes of the Sufi tradition from across the world, but it also served as a platform for emerging singers and practitioners of classical and modern dance along with Sufiana music. Celebrating a decade of humanism and peace through music, the 10th year of the festival witnessed performances by singer Abida Parveen, singer-turned-actor Ali Zafar, Hans Raj Hans, Andrea Griminelli, Indira Naik, Vidhi Sharma, Rajesh Pandey, Vidhi Lal, Shivani Varma, Zia Nath, Smitalaya and Murad Ali. The second day of the festival saw a spectacular performance by Ali Zafar, who sang songs like ‘Husn Par Tere Fida Hoon’, ‘Daastan-e-Ishq’, ‘Ni Mai Jaanaan’, and was accompanied by musicians Asad Ahmad and Kamran Zafar on the guitar, Ali Mustafa on the keyboard, and Baqar Abbas on the flute. The actor, who was in India with his wife Ayesha, said, “In my opinion it is very important for an artiste to stay tuned to his real calling. Mine is very much related and inclined to our culture, art and the Sufi tradition. I feel closely knitted to the spiritual domain of this land and cannot dissociate from it. Therefore, any opportunity that provides an association with it is a pleasure. To be part of Jahan-e-Khusrau provides me with just that.” Kamran shared his experience, “We were extremely delighted to see such a huge response. I was surprised to see the popularity of Sufi music slowly catching up amongst the Indian masses. It was also interesting to watch the crowd groove to Sufi music in Delhi clubs.” Asad, who played the guitar, added, “It was heartening to see that people in India love listening to Sufi music. I was taken aback when the crowd recognized us and people came up to us for pictures and autographs.” The final day saw renowned Sufi singer Abida Parveen’s mesmerising performance. She described the festival as “a spiritual call by Muzaffar Ali that we all share and join in each year to further the message of humanism and brotherhood across the world.” “In Sufism there are no barriers, mine or yours, old and new. It belongs to all and connects hearts and souls,” she added.