PAPER 5

DANCE, POETS AND POETRY,

RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY AND INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE

MODULE 21: SUFI POETRY AND KATHAK

Kathak, as the only Indian classic dance to draw from both Hindu and Islamic influences, has an opportunity to blend cultures, regardless of religious differences. This becomes important in wake of the fact that there has always been religious influence on Indian arts. While many saw Kathak as an ancient tradition traversing a long route, since times of ancient history and orality, Margaret Walker, director of the School of Music at Queens University in Ontario, Canada, disagrees. Having deconstructed the history of the classical dance, Walker argues that Kathak is a 20th-century revival dance form that draws from a variety of sources, harking specifically to Hinduism and Islam. As in the earlier part we have successfully established the fact that Kathak saw an unprecedented efflorescence during the bhakti period, could one say the same of Kathak and Sufi links. Meditative practices of the Sufis, especially the repetitive whirling and pirouetting, and the Sufi imagery of dance, would certainly suggest it.

Emerging around the year 800, the Sufis were originally pious devotees, whose poor woolen clothes showed their humility. "Sufi" comes from the Arabic word suf which stands for wool. Above all, the Sufis sought the divine reality or ultimate truth that stands above all the illusions and deceptions of the material world. In order to achieve ecstatic union with God, they incorporated techniques of sound and movement -- chanting and music, swaying and dance.

Believers joined in tight-knit brotherhoods or tariqhs / , each following a charismatic leader (shaykh / ).

While the Islamic courts later went on to patronize music and dance, more is owed to the sufi shrines. It was the footprint of Sufi influence across India in the religious, meditative and performative practices,

during the early centuries of Muslim rule in India. Dhikr / or Zikr / is the repetition of Gods name as a meditative exercise. It was the prescribed method of devotion for the Sufis. Dhikr is usually done individually but in some Sufi orders or

silsilahs / it is instituted as a ceremonial activity. In some silsilahs, particularly the popular Chistiya / silsilah, music and dance were permitted forms of Dhikr. For this, while in other parts of the world the Sufis had been prosecuted, in India they found a more welcoming environment, and these mystical music

sessions called Sema / , became a defining feature of Sufism in India.

Sufism is believed to have passed through three stages in medieval

India, of which the first was the Khanqah / stage that lasted till the end of the 12th century. The Khanqah was a place where wandering Sufis congregated to pursue the devotional life under a master, although there was no special bond between master and

student. The second stage was the Tariqa / stage, which began in the 13th century and was distinguished by the formation of

schools around masters. There was a pir-murid / - (master-disciple) relationship and each Khanqah was defined by a degree of

systematization, differentiation and specialization. At the time of Feroz Shah Tughlaq (1309-1388), one hundred and twenty Khanqahs were built. He built a major Madrasa at Hauz Khas that became one of the most important centres of Islamic learning. The third and final

stage of Sufism was the Taifa / stage, which commenced from 15th century onwards. Veneration of the Pir, who was an intermediary between the disciple and God, became the hallmark of this stage, resulting in the Pirs being recognized as saints. Their orders became hereditary and their shrines were empowered by the

barkat / of the saint to become centres of devotion. This is also the period when women began visiting the shrines, and even though they were not allowed to enter, they were happy to make offerings from the outside, in the hope that the Pir would mediate with the supreme power, on their behalf. Many devotional practices at these shrines developed at this stage, which were similar to Hindu practices like circumambulation, touching relics, lighting lamps,

candles and incense, fasting, witnessing miracles, offering nazar / to the successors, and singing devotional songs.

By this time, Sufism had really captured public attention and affection, and huge crowds would throng the shrines, participating in

the Qawalis / and other mehfils / , or gatherings. Some of these mehfils also included songs that would be sung and performed by the renowned musicians and dancing girls of Delhi. While dancing girls had no direct association with religious institutions, being patronized mostly by the court and the aristocracy, it became a custom for them to visit the shrines of saints revered by Hindus and Muslims. Here they sang songs in praise of the prophet and poems composed by Sufi poets. There was also a

tradition of gatherings in the homes of living Sufi saints. Their shrines became important centres of cultural life of Delhi in the medieval times.

As medieval Indian prospered with towns, marketplaces and cantonments coming into being, the sensibilities of the Indians moved from the fixity of Sanskrit to a more flexible environment with a lot of give and take of languages, traditions and features. This was the environment that gave the intellectual space for the rise of the Sufi faith and the bhakti movement. Even today, the Sufis are the power that has made Islam the world's second-largest religion, with perhaps 1.2 billion adherents. They are not a sect of Islam, but rather heirs of an ancient mystical tradition within both the Sunni and Shia branches of the faith. The word "Sufi" conjures up images of mystical poetry or dance. Thirteenth century poet Rumi was a legendary Sufi, as are Turkey's whirling dervishes. But these are just the most visible expressions of a movement that runs deeply through the last thousand years of Islam.

Mention must be made of one of the less acknowledged strands of Indian Sufism- the mystical Krishnaite tradition developed by Muslim Sufis. In the verses that these Sufis composed, which are still widely sung in the north Indian country-side, the love [lila] between Krishna and his gopis forms the central image and motif, symbolising the perfect attachment between the Sufi and God. Two names stand out in this context- that of Malik Mohamed Jayasi and Ras Khan. Malik Muhammad Jayasi (1477-1542), who wrote the first significant work in the Awadhi dialect, established a flow of love-linked cult

(Premashrayi Dhara) in 'Nirgun Brahmopasana / ' selecting the medium of the story of 'Padmawati / ' and 'Ratnasen / '. By the metaphor of meeting and separation-

'Sanyoga' and 'Viyoga', he dictated the lesson of Gyan and Yoga. Accepting this very basic concept, Jayasi in his Padmavat wrote about erotic, worldly love and spiritual unworldly love in 'Masanavi

Shaili / '. It is believed that his ancestors were resident of Arab, and they came into India probably in connection with their business. He lost his one eye due to attack of smallpox in his very early childhood. His parents left this world when he was a child and wandered here and there with saints and fakirs. Later, he lost all his sons to death following which he felt such severe detachment (Vairagya) from the world that he entered the world of the sufis. He made the Sufi saint Shekh Mubarak Bodle his Guru and accepted the path of Sufi religious faith. His fame as a Sufi saint spread abroad and from his works he explained the Sufi ideas.

In using Krishnaite imagery, these Sufis performed a dual purpose: making their doctrines more intelligible to the masses, and bringing Hindus and Muslims closer to each other in a shared universe of discourse. The most well-known of the Indian Muslim Sufis who wrote principally in the Krishnaite mould was the sixteenth century Ras Khan. Ras Khans name means mine of nectar. Much of the little that we know about his life is shrouded in myth and mystery. His actual name is said to have been Ibrahim Khan, and he was born in the village of Pihani in the Hardoi district in what is now Uttar Pradesh. As to how he embarked on the Krishnaite path, there are great differences of opinions. According to one story, as contained in

the medieval text Bhaktakalpadruma / , he once travelled to Brindavan along with his Sufi preceptor. There he fell unconscious and had a vision of Krishna. Thereafter, he remained in Brindavan till he breathed his last. Another version has it that Ras Khan fell in love with a very proud woman, but later, on reading the Bhagwat Purana he was so deeply impressed by the unselfish love of

the gopis for Krishna that he left his proud mistress and headed straight for Brindavan. There are several more, that cant be recounted here in the interest of brevity. The fact is that Ras Khan began living in Brindavan, composing and singing the Krishnaite Sufi poetry for which he is still so fondly remembered.

Raskhan spoke both Hindi and Persian, and wrote in Braj Bhasha. He translated the Bhagwat Puran into Persian. Ras Khan's verses, in his

best known work Premavatika / which consists of fifty-three verses, mostly deal with the nature of true spiritual love, using the love between Radha and Krishna as a model. His verses in have become a part of the Kathak abhinaya repertoire. The poetry of Raskhan focuses on the "Lilas" of Lord Krishna, such as Bal Lila, Chir Haran Lila, Kunj Lila, Ras Lila, and Panghat Lila. Apart from Lilas, Raskhan has also created poems on Shiva, Ganga and the festival of Holi. Many dancers have used his evocative poetry in kathak. Shovana Narayan created and entire evening out of his poetry in 2002, called Ras Rasik Raskhan based on the eternals Lilas of Krishna that Ras Khan had so eloquently written about, but also on the fact that he regarded Krishna as the Supreme Godhead who actually has no physical form. In effect, then, what we have here is a Krishnaite form of Sufism. In fact in a 1980 work, Shovana Narayan had anticipated this link. She used for the first time the poetry of Rumi, and drew sufi vaishnav parallels juxtaposing rumis verses with the poetry of Surdas and Bihari, in the production called Ney: Bansuri

In contemporary times, possibly the first dancer to call in distinctly Sufi poetry to populate and inspire Kathak dance was Maya Rao. When Rao was in Moscow as a post graduate student of choreography, as part of her course work, she was expected to take up a theme, adapt a script, and present a sort excerpt, no more than

a scene or two, to the panel of examiners. It was then that she thought of Amir Khusro, as the poet was a promoter of peace. In fact the word Meer in Russsian meant peace, and as the republic of Tajakistan was then part of the erstwhile Russia, she felt that there would be an instant connect. She collected lot of information on Amir Khusro from the oriental manuscript section of the Moscow library. She got the renowned composer of music, Balsanyan, a Nehru awardee and the composer of the ballet Shakuntala on which she was a consultant, to compose the music in the Tajik style, and that is how the idea of a choreography called Amir Khusro was born. On her return, in 1970, the Amir Khusrau centenary committee invited her to present a ballet of Amir Khusro on the occasion of his seventh centenary celevbration. The ballet was very successful and was performed in Delhi, Kashmir and his birth place Itawah in Uttar Pradesh, before travelling to other parts of the country and overseas. The sitar, tabla, tarana and Qawali were all a major part of the production, chosen as he was credited with having created them. It was finally invited to Russsia as well, completing the circle.

In 2014, Shashwati Sen danced the poetry of Amir Khusro for the Dilli ka Apna Utsav. When it came to the Rang, she danced draping dupattas of different colours on herself, so that in the end Raas she pirouetted in complete silence, there was every colour moving along with her. In 1980 renowned Kathak dancer, Shovana Narayan

performed a composition called Ishrat-e-Farda / --. This was based on the works of Amir Khusro, Kabir, Lal Ded, Rabia-al-Basra. In the first version, Ishrat-e-Farda was performed to verses of Amir Khusro and Kabir. Later from mid-nineties, verses of Lal Ded and Rabia-al-Basra were added. This production was performed at various times and on various occasions and at various venues of Delhi and Lucknow since 1980.But even earlier, Shovana had worked

on a Sufi theme when in 1974, she created a work called Omar

Khayyam / this was a memorial programme for her first guru, Sadhona Bose. It was performed at Kala Mandir, Calcutta. The script culled out from the works of Omar Khayyam reflected the transiency of life and the desire of each soul to be ultimately united with the universal soul. Later, in 1998, she created The Search

Within: Antar Yatra / , this work was created as an international collaboration with an Austrian curator, Werner Dornik. The Search Within was for Shovana a spiritual journey. For each the journey was a personal journey and seldom was it a smooth one. Some may realise the transient nature of life and the material world, while seeking union with the divine. With the immortal poem of Ali Sardar Jafri, Abla pa serving as the link, the Sufis journey was described in the thoughts of mystics like Amir Khusro, Kabir, Maulana Rumi, and the lady mystics- Lal Ded of Kashmir and Rabia Al Basra.

Shovana has also used the poetry of Bhakti and sufi poets as well as modern ones when she has dealt with a theme. For instance in her work Chand she used the poems of Malik Muhammad Jayasi, Surdas and Harivanshrai Bachchan, to convey many facets of how the moon appeals to us, and how we engage with it.

In more recent times, US-based Indian dancer Aastha Dixit, disciple

of Pt. Birju Maharaj and Malati Shyam, got inspired by the Sufi way

of life that she has studied in her visits to the dargah Khanqah-e-

Niyaziya. She plans to take a distinct Sufi style of Kathak across the

world. Her love for Sufism and admiration for the medieval Persian

poet Amir Khusru brought the Kathak exponent to the dargah, which

is looked after by descendants of the great Sufi saint Khwaja

Moinuddin Chisti of Ajmer Sharif. The Sufi tradition is a shared one

between Indian and Pakistan. It is therefore no surprise that Nahid

Siddiqi has also worked on Sufi poetry of Bulle Shah & Aamir

Khusaro. The Sufi way of life evidently inspires the young generation

as very recently, Smt. Kumudini Lakhia choreographed a 'Sufiana Gazal' by poet Amir Khusrau for dancers Aakash Odedra and Sanjukta

Sinha.

At the Fez Sacred Music Festival, that also makes space for dance, in

2012, young Kathak dancers Anuj Mishra and Niha Singh performed

singly and in a duet. Similarly at the World Sufi festival in Nagaur, in

2015, Paras Mal Solanki and the other members of the Malani

Sanskratik Kala Kendra, from Jasol, in Barmer performed as did a Gair

Group. For the first time a fusion was experimented with at the Sufi

Festival, with Kathak Dancer Anupama from Jodhpur. This

experiment captured the sounds of drums, sticks and ghunghroos,

performing together.

Mention must be made of the sizeable body of work created by Rani

Khanam. Rani claims that Islam is my faith. Kathak is my life. It is a

natural step for me to explore the self in terms of the other, it pours

from my heart. I practise Islam and I practice dance. I decided to

learn in order to seek the truth in dancing to Islamic Verses. Since my

birth I have been hearing the Azaan and the verses of Koran, which I

have also studied. They create divine vibrations in my body, moving

me closer to spirituality. Rani draws our attention to the fact that

there is a body movement that is made while reading the Koran.

These verses are also in tarannum / , she says, and so the musicality of Bhakti poetry and the inherent musicality in the reading

of the verses of Koran appeal to the aesthete in her. Since she

belongs to a Chishtiya Silsila, she is a Murid of the Khankahe- Nijami,

in Barielly. This shrine has become a spiritual centre for classical

artistes. Many legendary masters like the Dagar brothers; Pt. Birju

Maharaj, Naina Devi ji etc were Murids of this khankah. The

Khankahe- Nijami's Dargaah Sharif is the only shrine in India where

Urs (annual Festival) is celebrated with Mausiki (Music) & Raqs

(dance). Like the others, every year since 1996, I have regularly

giving haaziri (performance) here by presenting Kathak with Sufiana

compositions. Having been born a Muslim, I feel I have a great and

added advantage, as I understand the beauty and intellectual

background of these mystical compositions, says Rani.

Because Rani works often in the context of Sufi poetry and Islamic verses, her work has been hailed as the crescent in Kathak. Her first composition Hamd (which means a poetic piece in praise of

Allah) was in 1995. It commenced with Islamic verses or Kalma / that are the opening lines of the Koran Sharief Bismillah-ur Rahman ur-Rahim (In the Name of God, the Compassionate, and the Merciful). Another performance was based on the Sufi poetry of Khwaja Usman Haruni, who was the master of great Sufi Garib Nawaz Khawaza Mounniddin Chishti of Ajmer Na Mi Daanam Ke Akhir Chun Dame Deedar Mi Raqsam / Magar Naazam Bai Zauqe Peshe Yaar Mi Raqbam (I do not know why a glimpse of You makes me dance / But I take pride in the fact that my love for You makes me dance). Rani has also danced select Ghazals and poetry of the immortal Sufi poets like the afore mentioned Sufi saint, Amir Khusrau, Bulleh Shah, Lal Ded who is also called the second Rabia, Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, Hazrat Shah Niyaz Ahmed, and many more, as part of regular concerts too. Since 1999, she has been

choreographing these spiritual sufiana compositions in the form of ensemble work. Some of her memorable choreographies for a group

are- Bismillah / , Hamd / , Qawwalis / , Andaz-e-Raqs / --, Nizbat / , Sufiana Ghazals, Tarana, In the Name of Allah, etc. In the name of God, Khanam showcased her concept of the body as the flower and the soul as it fragrance with slow graceful movements to the tune of Amir Khusrau and Rumi poetry.

For the past two decades, Rani Khanam has performed regularly at

reputed international festivals. Her ensemble represented India

through ICCR in the Salaam - International Festival of Islamic Arts, in London with legends of Sufi musicians, singers & dancers from

around the world. This was curated to show the world the beauty

and peace of Islam. Here she performed The Sound of Spell. A

Sufiana dance performance for inauguration of the Islamic Art

Museum in the presence of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, their

Majesties the King and the Queen of Malaysia was another highlight.

She also performed in the India week at Tlemcen, in Algeria, that had

been declared the Islamic culture capital of the world, for the year

2011. A significant presence at the international Sufi festivals, Rani

has collaborated with other great Sufi Musicians, Singers & Dancers,

and studied the medium of Sufism very closely and carefully. Among

the Sufi musicians, scholars and followers of Sufi saints that she has

worked with are masters from Egypt, Turkey, Yemen, Iraq, Kenya,

Morocco and even China.

Finally, Manjari Chaturvedi is a well known name associated with a

form called Sufi Kathak. Sufi Kathak is a new art form created by Manjari Chaturvedi. Manjari Chaturvedi is a Kathak dancer of the

lucknow Gharana who has been experimenting with Darbari Kathaki

and Sufi Kathak. In the former she associate with actress Neesha Singh to do popular shows telling the story of the tawaifs and

dancing girls of India in a programme called The Lost Songs of the

Courtesans. In the second format she has a larger body of work, as

she often collaborates with different sets of musicians. She has

combined the mysticism of Sufi tradition with her dance to create a

rather dramatic school of performance, called Sufi Kathak. Some of

her collaborators have been the langas / and mangyars / , qawals amongst others. She has done more than 250 concerts in 22 countries and takes great care to present herself and

the programme with great elegance and an old world charm in

costuming and jewellery. Manjari was part of the first ever edition of

Jahan-e-Khusro created by Muzaffar Ali. Ali has since been her

promoter. Even Astha Dixit has been part of the Jahan e-Khusro

Festival in 2013, where she danced with the whirling dervishes and

also to live singing by Malini Awasthi.

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