Mystical Evenings Included in the Popular List of Twenty-Two Identified QAWWALI: Baees Khwaja Ki Chaukhat: Celebrating Khwajas the Sufi Heritage of Delhi with Delhi
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The IIC Experience: A Festival of the Arts November 2015 which incorporated the names of the Sufis who are usually Mystical Evenings included in the popular list of twenty-two identified QAWWALI: Baees Khwaja ki Chaukhat: Celebrating Khwajas the Sufi Heritage of Delhi with Delhi. I enjoyed this Qawwali the most, as there was an Ustad Chand Afzal and his group element of innovation while including the names, something I 30 October. had not heard earlier. This rendition in classical style added to the magic of the evening. During the 13th and 14th centuries, Delhi became an important centre of Sufism on the world stage. After the Mongol invasions of Central Asia, a large number of Sufis, poets and scholars settled in and around Delhi. Since then, the term ‘Baees Khwaja ki Chaukhat’, threshold of Twenty Sufi Masters, has been attributed to Delhi, signifying its spiritual heritage. The present form of Qawwali, is attributed to Hazrat Amir Khusrau, the beloved poet-disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. He innovated new melodies, fusing Indian, Turkish and Persian music traditions, in order to create novelty in the sama, musical assemblies, of his spiritual mentor. The Chishti Sufis remained committed to using music as a means of inducing states of spiritual ecstasy. On the inaugural evening of the IIC experience, Qawwalis Qawwali by Ustad Chand Afzal celebrated Delhi’s rich Sufi legacy. The evening set outdoors amidst the cool evening breeze drew The second Qawwali was Hazrat Amir Khusrau’sChaap tilak a packed house. The troupe began by a soulful rendition, sab cheen li mose naina mila ke….. Probably the most popular of Baees Khwajaon ki mehfil saji hai, Dilli dulhan bani hai… Qawwali numbers, it always gets an appreciative applause from the audience. The third QawwaliYeh jo halka halka suroor hai, has been immortalised by the late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and is genuinely difficult for any Qawwali group to match. The fourth Qawwali Dam a Dam Mast Qalandar, is another all- time favourite. The fifth and the last Qawwali,Rang , is always the last rendition in any Sufiana mehfil, for it includes the names of some Sufis, particularly that of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, to invoke their blessings. Ustad Chand Afzal belongs to the Dilli Gharana, and has trained under its current head, Ustad Iqbal Khan. It was the first time I heard Ustad Chand Afzal, and do look forward to hearing him again. I also hope IIC offers us more such mystical evenings. SADIA DEHLVI Qawwali 1 iic experience diary Unseen Treasures from the Sarasvati Mahal Library EXHIBITION and TALK: India’s Best Kept Secret: Sarasvati Mahal Library, Tanjore Curator: Pradeep Chakravarthy Inauguration by Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan Collaboration: Sarasvati Mahal Library, Thanjavur 30 October-4 November Treasures of Sarasvati Mahal Library Illustrated lecture by Pradeep Chakravarthy 31 October. A recent photographic exhibition at the IIC titled ‘India’s Best Kept Secret: Sarasvati Mahal Library, Thanjavur’ curated by Sarasvati Mahal Exhibition text on a black background. Also highly entertaining was his Pradeep Chakravarthy was an eye opening glimpse into this detailing of the list of food cooked for royal banquets (the little known collection of rare manuscripts. It was under the recipe books were part of the exhibition as well). Amongst rule of Serfoji II (1798-1833), who was an avid bibliophile, the manuscripts are delightful discoveries such as the very rare that the bulk of this collection of manuscripts was created and , which initially aroused Chakravarthy’s interest in amassed. Katharayi the collection, in which the same narrates an incident Along with the exhibition, Pradeep Chakravarthy gave an sloka from the as well as the ; insightful illustrated lecture (‘Treasures of the Sarasvati Ramayana, Mahabharata Bhagavatha and the Shabdartha Chintamani, in which reading the stanza from left to right, we read the Ramayana and from right to left, we read the story of Krishna! The Library contains more than 69,000 printed books; 49,000 manuscripts (25,000 in palm leaves) and the rest in paper; 1200 Modi documents (relating to legal and administrative documents). These have been classified according to language – Tamil, Sanskrit, European languages and Telugu. The photographs in the exhibition (shot by Satyajit and Vikram Sathyanathan) were a selection of these rare documents. There were Nayak paintings from the 16th century – a vivid and brightly coloured Hanuman with Sarasvati Mahal Exhibition gold appliqué, paintings in the Mysore style as well as rare manuscripts from the Nayak period depicting Mahal’), filled with anecdotes not only about how he came costumes, designs and jewellery. There were Thanjavur style about the collection, but stories about each and every genre paintings done on glass as well as illustrations of Serfoji II’s contained within the Library. Starting with the Kuruvanji – an visit to Varanasi in 1820. What stood out in all these images is ancient genre in Tamil Nadu that went on to become a popular the brightness of colours, still vibrant after all these years. The form of entertainment from the 17th to 20th century – as exhibition also showcases the , well as a brief history of the rulers from that time, he detailed Chitra Ramayana Bala Kanda three painted sheets of three from the , which the other kinds of books in the collection, including those on kandas Ramayana are amongst the finest miniature paintings in the Library. Astronomy and Astrology (Shakuna Shastra); books on dance, The exhibition and lecture were but a glimpse into the rich drama and music comprising the largest collection in the collection and heritage at the Sarasvati Mahal, one which has Library; Rajamriganam, or books on medicine; illustrations of surely enthused many of its viewers to go and see the collection plants and birds and the Purush Sukta, a sacred hymn depicting for themselves. the creation of the cosmos – a rare printed book with white NANDITA JAISHANKAR 2 diary iic experience juxtaposing physical strength and desire, questioning the Two Diverse Exhibitions notion of the feminine. EXHIBITIONS: Portraits of Childhood by Christine Margotin Inauguration by Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan Tobick Geecke’s arresting series on street kids astonished me Collaboration: Seher by close-range shots where he depicts the violence and betrayal Young German Photographers these kids experienced due to self-neglect and by directing Curated from the Ostkreuz School of Photography, Berlin the violence against themselves. Aras Gotkens’ images had a Collaboration: Goethe Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan distance from their subject: they were clearly in urban settings 31 October-4 November but had an underlying tone connecting them not so much with the space but our deep The Young German Photographers’ show was one of the most innermost feelings. They led striking photography shows in the city overflowing with images me organically to the dream- from the Delhi Photo Festival. Despite different subjects like works by Katharina chosen, I felt that the photographers united in an immediate Allenburg which attempted to intensity and honesty of approach. The group comprised five represent memories and were graduates of the Ostkreuz School of photography and the diffused in soft focus, like a film we had seen which ran in our heads subconsciously but could not be captured as a still. This arts festival also had a high-spirited lively show of children’s sculptures, fabricated in fibreglass by Christine Margotin who Portraits of Childhood decided to depict the most carefree phase in our lives. Placing these life-size sculptures at the Gandhi King Plaza was spot Young German Photographers on, ingeniously converting the space into an entrancing playground. We saw laughing girls with flying ponytails, youngest, Yana Wernicke drew me in to her images with a skipping ropes and playing hopscotch or eating ice cream, as Vermeer-like lighting and mysterious portraits of women who if enjoying an afternoon in the park with their friends, as we reminded me of the Amish settlers in Pennsylvania. They walked around them relaxed and comfortable. looked like they were not quite in synchrony with today but had unflinchingly strong roots in myth and tradition. As it Margotin is a French chemical engineer living in Delhi and turned out, these were Sorb settlers in Germany creating a she has been working as a sculptor on themes like childhood, dialogue on national identity. Enmeshed with these portraits waterside, Indian roads and spirituality. Her sculptures are were Katarzyna Mazur’s powerful images of women from a realistic but their forte lies in their spontaneity and lack of fighting club, which had a seductive duality to them, deftly restraint. The moulding of one such sculpture called ‘ the little street acrobat’ is unusually fluid, making the material seem softer, more like rubber than fibreglass and there is no paint or colour on it to distract the eye from its flowing contours. There were mostly happy action-based sculptures, children splashing in puddles or blowing soap bubbles but some reminded you of the more stressful aspects of childhood. My favourite was that of a boy throwing a tantrum with his little head bent all the way back, arms stretched tight and mouth wide open in a churlish holler, reminding us that we can all, given half the chance be quite uncharitable and have a blow- out in a fit of not so childish pique! SABA HASAN Young German Photographers 3 iic experience diary from Delhi, Baroda and Santiniketan, while Anand Moy Paradox and Strength Banerji acknowledged the absence of ace printmaker Jyoti EXHIBITION: Print making and Anupam Sud Bhatt, and Sud’s students Shukla Sawant and Subba Rao. Curated by Dolly Narang and Ananda Moy Banerji Inauguration by Air Marshal Naresh Verma 31 October to 8 November With the overpowering presence of bodies, female and male, it would be simplistic to call Sud a feminist artist.