Makke me koi dhunde, Kashi ko koi jaaye,
Guiyyan, main apne pi ke paiyyan padhun na kahe?
(The world worships something or the other,
Some seek in Mecca, some go to Kashi.
Why, then, O wise ones, should I not fall at my Beloved’s feet? )
It was a serene evening, when the sun played hide and seek and the rain-bearing clouds brought joys of their own. And a chosen few Delhiites had a moment when they chanced upon some exquisite poetry written by Amir Khusrau, the most iconic mystic Sufi poet to have existed in the Indian subcontinent. This, backed by some feel-good story-telling, made it the perfect Sunday evening one could have hoped for.
Hosted by India Habitat Centre, Khusrau Ke Rang , in collaboration with Aga Khan Trust, was a musical narrative which explored the tones of the relationship between the 13th Century poet Khusrau and his spiritual master Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. The poet’s music played around with Arabic aalap, Persian recitation and Hindustani ragas, a blend that was gentle yet overwhelming to one’s ears.
Speaking about the perception of Khusrau Ke Rang , Ankit Chadha, the narrator, dastango (story- teller) and an ardent Khausrau follower himself, said that the poet was an extremely suitable character to write another story on. “I had been researching for a while and I came across Khusrau. He is a story in himself.” A history graduate who studied less history and more street art in college, Ankit stumbled upon dastangoi, the ancient Urdu storytelling art form in 2010 and has never looked back, since then. “Unfortunately, street theatre is not an organised art form as a career in India. The closest I can come to street theatre is through dastangoi, wherein one only requires a body, a voice, a story and a listener. There are no props, costumes or stage that is involved and it’s that simple,” said Ankit.
Indubitably, music is an inherent part of who Khusrau was and what remains of him. However, Dastangoi as an art form does not work with music. “We are oral narrative performers who tell stories. And there are so many variants like gazal, folk poetry, qawwali, when it comes to the rendition of Khusrau’s poetry. So I decided on coming up with eight different kinds of songs and stories that contextualised what the poems are about; with the scope of the story being of a student and a teacher and the basis of their relationship,’ said Ankit.
While Ankit told the stories, Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy, led the vocals, Vedanth Bhardwaj accompanied the vocals and played the American banjo and on percussion was Ajay Tipanya with the dholak; all of which resulted in a standing ovation from the audience and requests for an en core.
The poetry and the music remained interactive with each other through the performance with the story shedding light on either. Bindhumalini’s voice modulation embraced the air and transformed it into a naturalised, magical qawwali setting one would hope for at a dargah. Her intonation was perfectly placed for a Hindustani singer whose inner calling was Carnatic music, to begin with. Having been under the tutelage of the legendary Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan since 2007, she rendered like a Sufi saint from the 13th Century on stage. “Qawwali is a new discovery for me. I consciously am, trying to improvise my Hindustani because it is an acquired taste, unlike Carnatic, which is rather innate. So each time an element is added, I see myself in a new light,” said Bindhumalini.
Considering the language at play, Vedanth Bhardwaj said that it was rather challenging for both Bindhumalini and him to come around the style of this singing. “We are both trained differently so it took us a while to get the correct pronunciations in Urdu and Persian. The language itself made the journey so fascinating for us,’ said Vedanth, who played the banjo effortlessly. Another interesting element was the keh mukarni, capturing the playful, mischievous Khusrau who played around with riddles. All of the poetry presented was based on love and Khusrau’s experiences since the time he met his pir, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, their longing for each other and the numerous anecdotes which followed.
Speaking about the relevance of Urdu and Persian poetry among today’s youngsters, Ankit stated that more than the language, the content of a particular language has the ability to sustain the language itself. “Why Urdu and Persian poetry is famous today is because of what is written in these languages. Interestingly, Urdu poetry is one the most shared content in online media today; something quite the opposite of what one would assume. This is the content that has survived for over 750 years, I am sure it needs no torchbearer to carry it forward,” Ankit remarked.
