Experience country’s soulful Sufi music at Samarpan in Odisha Capital

Bhubaneswar: Rabindra Mandap in Odisha Capital will reverberate with the soulful cadence of Sufi music. Bhubaneswar Music Circle and Odisha Tourism are here with another edition of ‘Samarpan’, a Sufi music festival that will have performers from across the country.

The festival starting tomorrow will commence with Abhangs, exuberant expressions of community experience as opposed to Bhajans, which focus more on the inward journey, by Omkar Dadarkar.

Bijay Kumar Jena, Secretary of Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, will be the highlight of Day 2 with Nirgun Bhajans by Kondh saint and philosopher, Bhima Bhoi. “Nirgun bhajans refer to the songs written in praise of an omnipresent god that has no shape or face. It’s an invisible energy. I am performing with four other members. Since it’s my first performance at Samarpan, I hope the response is good,” said Bijay, who also heads the Odissi Vocal Department at Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya.

To enliven the city and colour it in the shades of Sufi poet, Bulleh Shah, Radhika Sood Nayak is coming all the way from Punjab. “Since the theme is Sufi, I chose Bulleh Shah’s poetry. I am performing in Odisha for the first time and I hope the audience will embrace the Sufi melodies from North,” said Radhika.

Khirod Patnaik, the organizer of the musical event said Samarpan presents a cross-section of devotional music drawn from Sufi and other pan India traditions. He further said that Bhubaneswar Music Circle came up with a Sufi theme to give city denizens a different taste. “In true tradition of Sufism, this festival embraces music from many different regions of India and unites them on a single stage,” he expressed.

The three-day festival will also have Shagun and Nirgun Bhajans by Dr. Raja Kale from Gwalior, Maithil Kavi Kokil Vidyapati’s poetry by Ranjana Jha from Bihar and qawwali by Warsi brothers of Delhi Gharana.