Sitting on the steps of Jama Masjid, young vocalist Arman Dehlvi sings hamd, poetry in the praise of Allah in sadra, a genre of music in old tradition of Sufism as his way to start a day in the auspicious month of Ramzan.
An old form of Delhi music culture, sadra is usually sung in Jhap taal or ten notes and is rarely sung these days as most of the practitioners are no longer available and there is no patronage for it these days. “When Ustad Bismillah Khan visited Iraq, he was asked by someone that why he makes music when music is not allowed in Islam to which the shehnai maestro sang a hamd “Allah Hu Akbar” in raga Bhairavi. So, it connotes that they are in some way existing together and music is a way of reflecting devotion towards the almighty,” says Arman.
Dhol, nagara or duff was used in the medieval times to let people know about the iftaar and suhur timings though they are musical instruments Later they were replaced by sirens. “During the time of Amir Khusro, streets used to echo with hamds which sufi saints used to sing as they wake up people for seheri. They used to carry their duff, shehnai and other musical instruments to wake up people in the night and used to improvise poetries dedicated to the month of Ramzan and in praise of the Lord,” says Ustad Wasifuddin Daagar, a Dhrupad exponent from Delhi.
Dhrupad like sadra, is also being neglected with coming of a variety of musical traditions but some Muslim music practitioners are still making efforts to stretch its life though originally it started as temple music but Sufi singers adopted it in their practice.
Universality of Sufism
“Sufism talks about inclusion and all good things, no matter what their origin is, is included in it which makes it universal. Dhrupad which originated as ancient temple music is being served by Muslim artists for centuries and they still practice it including Daagar family who is serving it for centuries,” adds Arman. An advocate of universality in music, Arman started a band called Trippy Sama along with fellow musicians from across the borders who bring in different traditions from the various parts of the world. “We have different traditions of music around the world which should be celebrated and that was the approach when we started off with our band and the music which they make what we call ‘international music’. With duff from Iranian tradition, tuned percussionist from Indonesia and African jimbe which is a kind of drum, all musicians come with experience of their own which makes confluence of music.” He emphasises that music is about love among humanity and Ramzan is a reminder for every individual to think how to make the society a better place to live. “Sufism teaches to encompass boundaries, to reach out to others and Ramzan also reminds us to help others by giving them sadqa a voluntary charity or by zaqat through giving alms to the poor and needy,” concludes Arman.
