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News |  29 Jan 2020 18:25 |  By RnMTeam

NCPA presents tenth edition of NCPA Sama’a: The Mystic Ecstasy!

MUMBAI: India’s Premier Cultural Institution, The National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) is back with its Sufi music festival of the year, NCPA Sama’a: The Mystic Ecstasy. The three-day festival from 7th to 9th February 2020 will showcase the Sufi ideology through music and dance performances and will feature renowned personalities such as Parvathy Baul, Mohammed Vakil & group, Hadarrattes Souiriyattes (An all-female group from Morocco) & Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Café.

On 7th February 2020, Song of the soul with Parvathy Baul will present mystic songs from the 15th century onwards in a style of her own, which uses the elements of theatre and sung storytelling along with explanatory comments in English. Baul means both, a syncretic sect of mystic minstrels from the region of Bengal, and the musical tradition revealing their wisdom. The ideology of Baul is based on the elements of Tantra, Sufi, Bhakti and the Buddhist thoughts.  With the subject of love at its core, the lyrics of Baul songs espouse a confluence of knowledge (gyan) and devotion (bhakti) imbued with a deep sense of mysticism and longing for oneness with the divine.

On 8th February 2020, Raqsam: Shades of Sufi Kalam will feature Mohammed Vakil & group showcasing Sufi kalams of Khusrau, Shah Kabir and others, juxtaposing the works of other mystic poets such as Guru Nanak and Meerabai. Born in a family of ghazal singers, Mohammed Vakil made his stage debut at the tender age of nine. Trained with his uncles, the well-known pair of ghazal singers, Hussain brothers, Vakil went on to win 1998 Sa Re Ga Ma Mega final. Salim Arif is a well-known writer, director, and designer from the world of drama and films.

The festival will host a movie screening, Chalo Hamara Des: Journeys with Kabir and Friends by Shabnam Virmani at Godrej Dance Theatre, NCPA.

On 9th February 2020, indulge in a Sufi Presentation by Hadarrattes Souiriyattes, an all-female group from Morocco who themselves play various instruments. The group seeks to invoke the divine and spread the message of love and peace with their trance music imbued with hues of spirituality.  Morocco especially, has deep ties with Sufism, with at least 1,000 different Sufi brotherhoods that are established by Sufi teachers. These are known for their message of tolerance and have long been viewed as models of moral conduct to be emulated. Prominent Sufi brotherhoods in Morocco are the Gnaoua, the Aïssawa, the Hamadcha, and the Jajouka.

NCPA Sama’a will conclude with Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Café and group, a neo-folk fusion band, which exclusively dwells on the mystic poetry of Kabir. With an objective to bring the philosophical message of Kabir into the playlists of the young generation, the group has evolved a unique style embedded in a substrate of Indian folk music, mixed with contemporary genres of rock, reggae, pop, and Carnatic music.

The collective voices convey the message of Kabir, highlighting devotion to an invisible and formless (nirgun) god, which resides in the heart, and can only be experienced with faith and devotion.

Event: NCPA presents the tenth edition of NCPA Sama’a: The Mystic Ecstasy!

Date and Day: 7th February 2020 – Friday, 8th February 2020 – Saturday, 9th February 2020 – Sunday

Venue: NCPA

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