THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A state of trance. That is what Sufi musicians Sameer Binsi and Imam Majboor transport you to, during their concerts. Now you can judge if all the hype is justified: the duo who specialises in qawwali—the 700-year-old Sufi form that incorporates instruments like the tabla and harmonium, and uses poems and songs to convey its message—is coming to Kochi. What makes the Malappuram-based singers unique is also the fact that their two-hour performance is a multi-lingual one, incorporating Persian, Arabic, Urdu and Malayalam.
Transcendental vibe
“My friend Imam and I sing about God, the Prophet and the ultimate question of human existence, the meaning of life,” begins Binsi, an alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University with degrees in Arabic, Sociology and Malayalam. “Sufism as a philosophy guides the inner self and is Islam’s answer to mysticism,” he adds.
What to expect Binsi and Majboor usually sing excerpts from the works of popular Persian Sufi poets, including Jalalad Din Rumi (the most read Middle Eastern poet in the West), Hallaj Mansur, and Amir Khusrow, the Indian Sufi poet considered to be the ‘Father of Qawwali’. At tomorrow’s concert, they will be joined on stage by Mohammed Akbar (tabla), Muhsin Umer (harmonium), Aziz Kozhikode (percussion) and Aslam (keyboard). “Islamic scholars are not my sole source of content. I also use material from the Upanishads and the teachings of Sree Narayana Guru. They support my ideology that the universe belongs equally to every living being,” shares the 36-year-old, who is happy that Sufi music is seeing a revival with many young musicians developing an interest for it.
At 7.30 pm. Free entry. Details: 9895019900