Sunday, January 03, 2010

Understanding Bulleh Shah and Amir Khusrau


An Intensive Workshop on Sufi Music and Qawwali

6-14 February, 2010, New Delhi

After two successful workshops in 2009 on the appreciation of Sufi music and Qawwali, Ektara India (a collective of art and media professionals) invites applications for an advanced workshop on understanding the poetry and music of medieval poet-composers Amir Khusrau (1253-1325) and Bulleh Shah (1680-1757), to be held in New Delhi from 6th to 14th February 2010.

Ektara India has been involved in varied activities of culture, arts, research and peacemaking, having produced documentary films, music albums, and multimedia, besides managing cultural events, academic symposia, and exhibitions. In October and December 2009, Ektara organized two introductory workshops on the appreciation of Sufi music and Qawwali in Delhi, which were attended and well-appreciated by people from cross section of professions and backgrounds. Some details about our previous workshops and events are available on the website www.ektara.org

Our next workshop (in Feb. 2010) hopes to take the participants to a more advanced level of understanding the poetry, music and historical context of legends like Amir Khusrau and Bulleh Shah. The verse of these two poets is probably the most performed Sufi poetry in north India and Pakistan. Although there is gap of almost 4 centuries between the lives of two poet-composers, these 400 years were also probably the most productive in the cultural history of south Asia. This workshop hopes to explore the development of Sufi poetry and music over these 4 centuries and beyond and what relevance they hold for us today.

The workshop will take place for 4 full-day sessions on weekends at a convenient location in south Delhi. It will include illustrated lectures by eminent scholars of history, literature and music, besides many sessions of audio and video screenings. There would also be a heritage walk and on-location performances of music. Lunch, tea and snacks will be served during the workshop. Handouts including reading material as well as multimedia on CDs would also be provided during the workshop.

The registration for the workshop is open for anyone with an interest in Sufi literature, music and cultural history. Although it is not a requirement, but those who attended any of Ektara’s previous basic workshops (Oct/Dec 09) might appreciate this advanced workshop better. The registration fee is Rs.4000 (inclusive of lunch, tea and handouts). There is an early bird discount of 25% if you register before 15th January, 2010. Couples or two or more friends together can still get this discount after the deadline. Students (who are not working as professionals) get a 40% discount if they register before 15th Jan. Those who have attended our previous 2 workshops (Oct./Dec.'09) also get a 40% discount if they register before 15th Jan.

To register, kindly download the application form at the link below, and send it to us along with your registration fee. Currently, you could either pay the full amount or only an advance of Rs.1000 (and the rest at the start of the workshop in February). The payment should be made by a Delhi cheque or DD in favour of EKTARA INDIA. Kindly note that our previous postal address has changed. Please get our latest address from one us when sending the forms.

http://www.ektaramusic.com/smw-appform-feb10.pdf