Keep Smiling...............: Ruhaniyat

What a beautiful sounding word......

रूहानियत .....Ruhaniyat

When Praveen asked if I'd be interested in going, I said yes, as much for the depth and beauty of the word, as for the 'sufi music', I think.

Ruhaniyat is an all India Sufi and Mystic music festival, that was at Hyderabad yesterday.....at the beautiful Taramati Baradari. Praveen, Diksha and I went and it was such a deeply moving and wonderful experience.

'Ruhaniyat' means Soulfulness. Sufi music does just that. At some point it puts you into a trance, like it touches energy points deep within that not much else can touch......and end of experience you come out feeling that much more enriched.

Praveen and Diksha as we entered

Taramati Baradari..the venue

They started on dot at 6.30, and that deserves mention just by virtue of being the not so common.

Krishnadas from Kerala

They started with what's called 'sopanam' a 'seeking the divine one step at a time'. They did an invocation to Krishna that's done at the Guruvayur temple, and one to Shiva.

A Buddhist chanting group from Tibet

The instruments, especially that really long one was fascinating to watch. The compere told us the names, but I can't recall even one. Guess a trance can do that :)

The chanting is very gut level, and needs to be felt more than heard. It's said to alter the very vibrational field of the place. I'm glad the compere recommended eyes closed. I did exactly that....makes it more experiential than sensorial.

Kachra Khan and troupe from the Manganiyar community

The Manganiyars are a community that is said to have music in their blood. They are an all muslim troupe, from the Sindh region of Rajasthan. They tour the world's Sufi fests, and have recently played even at the famed Carnegie hall

It's folk with a a strong base in classical music, set to Sufi poet Baba Balleh Shah. Kachra khans voice can reach amazing decibels and pitch.....awe inspiring.

Diksha immediately recognized them from the Sufi festival we'd attended in Jodhpur earlier this year, especially so the guy on the extreme left who seems to just brings the stage alive with sheer energy and joy in the music. You can even see it in this picture.

The 'Two Siberians'

That's what these two call themselves...'the two Siberians'.....they were spellbinding. I'd never heard the electronic violin before and it was simply something else, like powerfully soulful comes closest, but it still falls short.......yes, words won't do.

The duo were amazing in their connect and sync .....they've been playing together for thirty years, and so embody the music.........they created magic I'd say.

The three groups, The Tibetans, The Manganiyars and The Siberians, together on stage

A merging together for a fun and wonderful rendition, which ended with a jugalbandhi between the Siberian with the electric guitar, and the Manganiyar on 'khartaal'( a small instrument that fits into the palm).

They created an experience that evoked a spontaneous standing ovation.

A turnback to catch the audience in full rapture

The 'Char Yaar'

This is a group of four....from four different sects, no, religions....a sikh, a hindu, a christain and a muslim. They sang poetry from Baba Bulleh Shah, to Khusrau, to Rumi, Kabir and even John Lennon.

They also did a composition set to 'Imagine' by John Lennon and very similar poetry from 'Rumi' which was beyond lovely.

Another standing ovation experience.

End of evening I was happy to get a chance to tell their lead, 'that if the others groups had begun the process, it was he who had put me into total trance with his 'maula re maula'. It's wonderful when you get a chance to express that gratitude.

It ended at 10.30, with a Qawwali by Timmu Gulfam and group.

Four hours of absolutely enthralled time.

Another shot of the venue

The structure at the hilltop makes the stage backdrop, but the stage lights are so in your face that it's hardly visible in the pictures. So here's a picture (courtesy Vedam, sourced from Google)