Kailash Kher admits he isn't perfect in English. But again, only the mind needs a formal language; the sublime and devotional flavour of Kailash's songs appeal to the soul.
As Kailash Kher enters the sit-out of his luxury suite at a city hotel, he looks quite the absent-minded professor with his unruly hair, T-shirt, soft handshake and unassuming tone. However as we all know, the “Allah ke bande” man is a Sufi yogi who has successfully taken Indian Sufi to the world.
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“We recently released our first album, ‘Yatra' internationally. I have been spending a considerable amount of time promoting the album and doing concerts around it in India and US,” says Kailash, updating us on his busy schedule.
During the US tour, Kailash's group, Kailasa became the first Asian band to have performed at the Hollywood Bowl.
The Hollywood Bowl has been host to legendary bands such as The Beatles and Cold Play. Kailash can't contain the child-like sparkle in his eyes, as he talks of performing in such a space.
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“Indian audiences connect instantly with my songs, as they understand the language. But one thing really inspiring about western audiences is that they connect with the rhythm and devotion of my songs, despite being unable to understand the language. They just live the moment during performances.”
Kailash lets out a guffaw and shares: “During one of my performances in the US, in an attempt to speak English, I happened to cheer the crowd, saying, ‘Come on shake your booty!' Even before I could realize it was a faux pass, a middle-aged lady was dancing away, literally shaking her ‘booty', it was an endearing and embarrassing experience.”
Going down memory lane, Kailaish says: “Despite the oddities, I was resolved to retain the originality, humility, and devotion in my songs. That helped me carve a niche for myself, with a signature style.”
Explaining how the oddities have refined him as a person and artist, Kailash says, “Experience in life is necessary. And what I am is a summation of the pleasant and harsh moments in life. Simply put, just submit yourself to the Almighty, and he will take care of your art.”
Easier said than done, but Kailash's success speaks volumes of how he has done it.
Apart from personal evolution, he feels that an artist always has to own up responsibility of how he/she is carrying ahead the legacy of an art form.
Addressing the perennial debate between puritans and votaries of popular culture, Kailash explains, “Sufi certainly mingled with other music forms of popular culture, but the original messages behind Sufi poetry remain the same, even in fusion.”
The genre had never marked its identity through any specific musical style — it's known by the messages behind its poetry, he says.
Beyond borders
He justifies that Sufi has evolved as a universal language of love and devotion; transcending geographical, linguistic and musical boundaries. Just when one was about to lose the sense of time, lost in the formless infinity of Sufi, Kailash pleaded to be excused for dinner.
But before signing off, he explains why he is comfortable voicing feminine characters in his songs, “The Sufi school of thought believes that the soul doesn't have any gender. When I connect to my soul and enact the physical self of a woman, it doesn't matter, then, if I am a male singer.”