‘Sufiyana kalam is linked to the spiritual tradition of Sufism, its repertoire is made up of vocal and instrumental compositions called maqam’
By Nazir Ganie
Srinagar- Sufiyana maestro, Ustad Shikeh Muhammad Yaqoob of Qaleenbaaft gharana on Tuesday expressed concern at what he described as government “faulty policies” and “step-motherly” treatment toward the preservation and promotion of Sufiyana music genre in Jammu and Kashmir.
“A lot of lip service is done. Nothing comes out concrete, There is no relief to us, not this genre of music (Sufiyana music)” award-winning Sufiyana singer Sheikh Yaqoob, told Kashmir Observer.
“We have seen administrators in various art-centric forums and departments who don’t understand art and don’t have a vision for taking it ahead with the same passion. They don’t understand the nitty-gritty of art and culture. This really impacts the overall lifespan of any genre” he said, adding “Also, times have changed, and music is an evolving process. Youngsters aren’t much into literature. Classical forums of any art are facing tough times. In this situation, it was a responsibility of the visionary government functionaries who would have come forward and saved these genres during difficult times.”.
Shiekh further said that during major promotional events happening in Kashmir, authorities don’t prefer to include Sufiyanamusic in their itinerary.
“Authorities have adopted an indifferent approach towards Sufiyana Mausiqi. This is a rich musical genre that has been part of Kashmir’s musical legacy for centuries now. However, a handful of artists are left now who have been aiming to preserve this genre of music at their personal level,” he said, adding “Preserving Sufiyana needs a holistic policy paperwork, deliberations with the stakeholders, artists and also promotional stunt and concerts at the government level.”
Pertinently, Sufiyana music is a centuries-old traditional form of music in which musicians (Sazandar) sing the song and at the same time play an instrument. The musical instruments used in this genre include Saz-e-Kashmir, Sehtaar, Santoor and Tabla.
“The tradition of this music is day by day vanishing with the death of Ustads and no patronage from the government side,” Shiekh said. “
Only a few families in Kashmir currently practice this musical genre, whereas the maestros like Ustad Ghulam Muhammed Qaleenbaaf, Ustad Ghulam Muhammed Saaznawaz and Ustad Abdul Ghani Ganaie (Namtahali) contributed to impart to their family members and were/are practising artists.
The maestros inherited from their forefathers – the elite class of masters like Ramzan Joo, Sidh Joo, Abdullah Shah, Muhammed Abdullah Tibetbaqal and Qaleenbaaft– the art of Sufiana Mousiqee and devoted their lives to the art which unfortunately is dying due to public insensitivity.
“Not only this classical Kashmiri music (Sufiyana) genre but I think all the forms of music in Kashmir are on the verge of death—the reason being government apathy and our insensitivity toward the art and artists,” Valley’s popular vocalist and music composer, Waheed Jeelani said.
“Due to the lack of a state cultural policy, the government doesn’t have any plans to revive, promote or preserve the contribution of our legendary Sufiyana or the artists,” Jeelani said.
He also blames what he calls some of the highly “influenced authors and poets” who take money from the government or New Delhi in the name of “culture” and spend on their own activities known to them.
“These people (poets and authors) get funded by the government at every level,” he alleged.
He says even former governments had approved crores for the digitization of writings of some authors across J&K, but nothing was done on the music front. “In performing arts including our Sufiyana music neither these artists are considered for any award nor any step is taken to preserve their rich and huge contribution,” laments Jeelani.
Notably, Sufiyana Kalam is the most exemplary form of Kashmir’s classical music. Initially linked to the spiritual tradition of Sufism, its repertoire is made up of vocal and instrumental compositions called maqam, which is centred on the interpretation of sung mystical poems in Kashmiri, Persian and Urdu.
Sufiyana music is traditionally played during long night sessions called mehfil, during which the spiritual master (pir, shaykh) and his disciples come together to meditate on the meaning of the verses, all the while letting themselves be penetrated by the beauty of voices and instrumental timbres.
Some other musicians from distinguished gharanas have also started giving music lessons to youngsters. They too, like Sheikh, are struggling to save something very precious to them from sinking into oblivion. “I will always be here and even if my class has one student,” he says, “I will still teach him.”
Historians argue that the art, music and dance had religious sanctity and royal patronage during the 10th to 11th centuries A.D as Raja Lalta Detya was a patron of the music, and dance while the kings like Horsha and Jayasimha were musicians and poets. Later in 1339 A.D during Muslim rule, there was a further impetus to the fine arts and music. The Muslim rulers including Zain –Ul- Aabdin (15th Century) encouraged them rather profoundly. To his court, expert musicians, dancers from Iran and Turan singers, dance and musicians of great standing from Yarkand, Samarkand, Tashkand, Kabul, Punjab and Delhi used to attend annual festivals of these arts.
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