Understanding Bulleh Shah and Amir Khusrau An Intensive Workshop on Sufi Music and Qawwali 6-14 February 2010 Ektara India, New Delhi

After two successful workshops in 2009 on the appreciation of Sufi music and Qawwali, Ektara India invites applications for an advanced workshop on understanding the poetry and music of medieval poet-composers Amir Khusrau Dehlavi (1253-1325) and Bulleh Shah (1680-1757), to be held in New Delhi from 6th to 14th February 2010.

Ektara India, a Delhi-based collective of media and art professionals, has been involved in a wide range of activities of culture, arts, research and peacemaking, having produced documentary films, music albums, and multimedia, besides managing cultural events, academic symposia, and exhibitions. In October and December 2009, Ektara organized two introductory workshops on the appreciation of Sufi music and Qawwali in Delhi, which were attended and well-appreciated by people from cross section of professions and backgrounds. These workshops were conducted by a eminent scholars and musicians such as
Prof. Madan Gopal Singh (Delhi), Atmaram Bhakal (Chandigarh), Hayat Khan Nizami Qawwal, Wasifuddin Dagar, Dhruv Sangari and many others. Numerous documentary films and archival audio/video recordings were screened during the workshop, besides heritage walks to Sufi shrines of Delhi. (See the attached programmes of the 2 workshops). All participants were also given certificates of participation besides CDs with music and other multimedia related to the subject.

Our next workshop (in Feb. 2010) hopes to take the participants to a more advanced level of understanding the poetry, music and historical context of legends like Amir Khusrau and Bulleh Shah. The verse of these two poets is probably the most performed Sufi poetry in north India and Pakistan. Although there is gap of almost 4 centuries between the lives of two poet-composers, these 400 years were also probably the most productive in the cultural history of south Asia. This workshop
hopes to explore the development of Sufi poetry and music over these 4 centuries and beyond and what relevance they hold for us today. It will not only equip the participants to appreciate the poetry and music better, but also acquaint themselves to the historical and political context of the Sufi movements in South Asia.

The workshop will take place for 4 full-day sessions on weekends (6th, 7th, 13th and 14th February, 2010, from 10 am to 6 pm), with an additional evening of heritage walk at the ...

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To register, kindly download the application form and send it to us along with your registration fee.

http://www.ektaramusic.com/smw-appform-feb10.pdf