Saieen Zahoor’s melodious voice resonated these beautiful verses over the strains of the ek-tara on a balmy summer evening at Peeru’s Café in Lahore, recently.The event was the three-day Mystic Music Sufi Festival by the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop (RPTW) and the timing was perfect. Never has the message of Sufism been as relevant for Pakistan as now. But we shall come to that later.
The festival brought together some great performers of Sufi music and poetry including some new ones. These included Fakir Abdul Wahid, Taj Mastani, Shah Jo Rag Fakirs, Akbar Khamiso Khan and Jamal Din Fakir from Sindh; Saieen Zahoor, Surraiya Multanikar, Surraiya Khanum, Rizwan Moazzam Qawwal, Iqbal Bahoo, Imran Aziz Qawwal, Ustad Hussain Bux Gullu, Sher Miandad, Ghulam Muhammad Chand, Wahdat and Hasnain, Chand and Sooraj Khan, Pappu Saieen, Goonga and Mithu Saieen, Mehmood Farid Qawwal, Mansoor Malangi and Allah Ditay Lonay Wala from Punjab; Akhtar Chinar Zehri from Balochistan and Zarsanga from NWFP. However, disappointment for fans of Abida Parveen loomed large as she couldn’t make it to the event due to a delayed flight after her string of concerts in the UAE.
Abida Parveen is a rarity in the world of Sufi music, a female lead performer. She is the daughter of prominent Pakistani vocalist Ustad Ghulam Haider, who (somewhat bravely) ignored convention and allowed her to study under him, and she also accompanied him to various religious performances. After a time developing her abilities, she married Ustad Hussein Sheikh, an influential producer from radio pakistan, who also helped her further her career.
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