Zia Ul-Haq and Siju Kumar firmly believe that music unites what the world divides. “Music helps make the world a harmonious place. There are no religious, ethnic, or cultural boundaries when it comes to music,” says the duo. And they would know. The classically-trained musicians are part of Hazrath, a qawwali music troupe. While Zia is from Ernakulam, Siju is from the city.
“Sufism is a devotional expression to god. Sufi music spreads the message of peace and love; it’s music for the soul. We want to break the popular notion that qawwali is a music genre of the Muslim community. In fact, our début performance was at a Christian seminary at Changanacherry. We began the recital by fusing Christian, Hindu and Muslim invocations to the gods,” says Siju.
Zia and Siju started Hazrath in 2009, as they felt that Sufi songs suited their open-throated singing voices. “We met at a reality show and realised that we shared a similar taste in music and decided to start a band together. We zoomed in on Sufi, not only because the genre suited our voices, but also as there were no Sufi bands in Kerala at the time,” says Zia.
Hazrath, which began with eight members, now has 12 musicians. The band has travelled to nearly 40 countries with their shows. “And we have been accepted wholeheartedly by all, regardless of language and culture. We have also performed at darghas across the country,” says Siju.
According to the duo, people are more attuned to Sufi music these days. “Bollywood now has at least one song with Sufi strains. The trend is catching on at Mollywood.” And while the audience responds better to a ‘Dum-a-dum mast kalandar’, a ‘Piya Haji Ali’, an ‘Afreen Afreen’ or a ‘Khwaja mere khwaja’, they are also open to pure Sufi strains.
Most of the film qawwalis have originals, rooted in the tradition, they say. “For instance, ‘Nit khair manga’ from the film Raid is a qawwali by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and ‘Mann Kunto Maula’ from the film Gunday is a qawwali written by Amir Khusro. We showcase the original and the filmi versions at our concerts. However, we do add our own manodharma to the performance. We occasionally supplement our recitals with explanations that convey the meaning of the compositions,” says Zia, adding that they also render their own compositions like ‘Ajmeer Khwaja’ and ‘Kamarun Khuda’ at their concerts.
The band, which has sung ‘Ya ilaahi’ in the film B.Tech , and “has performed the background scores that have a Sufi touch in innumerable films”, is currently working on a music album, which they hope to release shortly.
Hazrath will be performing today at 6.45 pm at Ganesham, Thycaud in connection with Soorya’s Jal Sa Ghar Festival.
Topping the charts
Zia is a man of few words; he prefers to let his music do the talking. The 32-year-old who made his début in the music industry with a duet, ‘Kaatrile kaatrile’ with Hariharan in the Tamil film Madrasapattinam , made himself heard in Mollywood with ‘O rabba’ from the movie Godha .
“O Rabba, my first solo in Malayalam, helped me make a mark in the industry. Till then, I was mostly singing tracks and doing re-recordings,” says Zia, who has sung songs such as ‘Saare njangal’ in Queen , ‘Changaathi naanaayal’ in Aadu 2 and ‘Pakiri pakiri’ in Dakini .
“Although I have sung in several films, not many know me. That is because people assume that a North Indian musician has sung the song when they hear a tune that has traces of Sufi,” says Zia, who comes from a musical family. His mother, Shobha Moosa, is an All India Radio singer and his father, Thoppil Moosa, plays the harmonium.
Zia has also sung in the Kannada film Raja Rani Roarer Rocket and has sung a duet with AR Rahman’s sister, AR Reihana for Abhirami , an upcoming Kannada horror film.
The singer is currently keeping his fingers crossed for ‘Venda Mone Venda Mone’ to top music charts. It’s a song he has sung for Deepak Dev for the soon-to-be released Vallikudile Vellakkaran .
