The much-loved Jahan-e-Khusrau World Sufi Music Festival is all set to return to the capital for its 13th edition. Founded by film maker and culture aficionado Muzaffar Ali, the festival has universal love at its core and attempts to bridge the gap between varied cultures across the globe.
The festival will be held from March 9 to 11 at Arab Ki Sarai, Humayun Tomb Monuments in the capital.
This year Jahan-e-Khusrau will stage a unique two-part ballet -- "Yamuna: Dariya Prem Ka". The ballet is dedicated to sensitising the world about the ecological damage to our water resources through the moving story of the river Yamuna.
The organisers said that the ballet, directed by Muzaffar Ali, connects our faith with our delicate ecology. "It aims to motivate today's youth and draw their attention to those environmental concerns that have been so integral to our faith and culture since the dawn of civilization," the organisers said.
The festival will witness the ballet on the opening and closing days with a new phase of the Yamuna unfolding its myth, her relevance today and the Sufi tribute to Krishna and his beloved river.
This year the festival will also showcase artists like Malini Awasthi, Shubha Mudgal, Hans Raj Hans and Kailash Kher, among others. They will be joined by an international music ensemble with poetry recitation by Murad Ali and a group from Iran, to name a few.
"When there is harmony in the soul, there is harmony in words and that is the poetry of life. When I dream beauty I see poetry through music," Muzaffar Ali said in a statement.
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The festival is patronised and supported by the Government of Delhi and Incredible India, among other partners.
Founded in 2001 as a three-day event in association with the Delhi Government and Ministries of Tourism and Culture, Government of India, ICCR and other sponsors Jahan-e-Khusrau came under the aegis of the Rumi Foundation in 2005. It has become a unique event for the city of Delhi, held in the ruins of Arab Ki Sarai adjacent to Humayun's Tomb.
These three mystical nights bring together musicians from different parts of India, the subcontinent and the world to perform in a seamless cinematic fashion.
--IANS
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