How sufi musicians of Nagore are taking their music beyond the dargah
The Hindu
Artistes from the coastal town are reinventing their music with a more contemporary interpretation of Islamic and Sufi music
M. Haja Maideen lives in Thethi village in Nagapattinam district. This third generation faqir (ascetic) of the Rifai tariqa (order) of Sufism has been singing Islamic devotional songs from the age of nine. He performs in and around his coastal village along with brother-in-law, Abdul Ghani. Together they present compositions set to the beat of the ‘dayra’. Haja’s elder brother Saburmaideen Babha Sabeer was the third member of the troupe until his demise in 2012.
The life and music of singers like Haja have been shaped by the Nagore dargah, dedicated to saint Abdul Qadir, just a few kilometres away from Thethi, and considered to be one of the biggest pilgrim centres in southern India.
During a recent visit to the dargah, the presence of music — instrumental and vocal — was as tangible as the five imposing minarets that frame the shrine. Whether as nagaswaram and thavil concerts at the nagara medai in the upper storey of the shrine, or as concerts by independent artistes and faqirs below, devotional tunes are seamlessly woven into the worship rituals.
Haja, Abdul and Saburmaideen would have remained in the shadows but for EarthSync’s (an audio-visual production house) award-winning 2007 documentary, ‘The Laya Project’, that turned the spotlight on them.
For over two years, journeying through countries affected by the 2004 tsunami and documenting their folk music traditions, the Laya Project explored communities in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Maldives and Myanmar.
The trio became popular as ‘Nagore Boys’ with their simple rendition of ‘Ya Allah’, showcasing their ability to spin a mesmeric sonic web with their voices and tambourine-like instruments.
Later they were invited by the project’s Chennai-based Israeli music producer, Yotam Agam, to record ‘Nagore Sessions’, with a line-up of guest artistes including Zohar Fresco on Middle Eastern percussions, horns by Monks from the Tashi Lhunpo monastery, sarangi by maestro Murad Ali Khan, rhodes and programming by Patrick Sebag, harmonium by Palakkad Sreeram and bass by David Saban.