Qawwali Night By Ruhdaari At Satva Skybar Elante

About the event

Ruhdaari By Gurmehar Presents Mehar Aayat Qawaals At Satva Skybar Elante Chandigarh On 19Th March from 8 Pm onwards.

Qawwali is a form of Sufi devotional chanting to music performed in the Indian subcontinent. The word “Qawl” is the Arabic word meaning an “utterance.” The person who repeats or sings a Qawl is a “Qawwal”. “In its most abstract definition Qawwali is a celebration of love, it is always about love.”

“RUHDAARI By Gurmehar” has searched & got together a bunch of young talented Qawwals, and their main Qawwal group is performing at Satva Sky Bar. They have had very successful & well appreciated performances in the past, all over the North India region.

Let's join them on this soulful journey, where ruhdaari meets kalakari. Bringing them live at Satva Sky Bar on 19th March.

Ruhdaari - The Journey

Faint strains of music reached my ears and awakened my senses to a whole new world. Raspy voices that were bellowing with life, energized me and soothed my soul. The year was 95 and I was ten years old; this is the first time I remember hearing Nusrat Sahib. My mother would put on Qawaalis and this Sufi music became an intrinsic part of me, woven into the fabric of my childhood.

Listening to the couplets written by the Sufi poets, I was mesmerized as a child and still listen to them in awe and rapt attention.

Sufism is known as “tasawwuf” in Arabic, it is a form of worship that transcends you to another level putting emphasis on spiritual closeness with God and becoming one with him. Sufi music is the devotional music inspired by the works of Sufi poets, like Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah, Amir Khusrow and Khwaja Ghulam Farid. ...
The manner in which these verses were sung came to be known as Qawwalis. They were originally sung in Persian and first written by Amir Khusro, who was a poet at the court of the Delhi Sultanate and a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya.

My journey with Sufism started at an early age and effected me profoundly as the words etched themselves onto my little heart. My passion for this music stayed with me and continues to grow each day, it gives me great joy as I continue to explore its nuances.

One day, I was at a function in a village and saw a group of boys perform Qawwalis. Interacting with them made me realise that they did not have a platform to showcase their talent. I decided at that moment to help them hone their talent. It was important to take them to a wider audience and help give them get more exposure.