Kashmir’s fading Sufiyana Mausiki, Tchakri songs attract a spotlight

The fast-fading Sufiyana Mausiki and Tchakri were replayed with the old-charm in Baramulla of north Kashmir on May 28.

The fast fading Sufiyana Mausiki and Tchakri, devotional folk songs that assumed centrality for carpet and shawl weavers of Kashmir for centuries, were finally replayed with the old-charm setting in a rare bid to “reconnect with the past” at Kunzer area in Baramulla of north Kashmir on Sunday.

To revive the old tradition of celebrating the vibrancy of onset of summers, Mehboob Iqbal Shah, co-founder of the Artisane Art and Cultural Centre, an off-shoot of the ‘House of Ali Shah’ established in 1860, on Sunday evening organised ‘Dastaan-e-Bahaar’ to pay tributes to the master weavers of shawls and carpets and prominent folk singers.

Ustad Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh, a known name in Sufiyana Mausiki, and Ghulam Ahmad Kachroo, a well-known Tchakri singer, sang soul-stirring poetry and verses in an open-air setting, as candles lit up the evening to pay tributes to the families of the artisans in Kashmir.

“Sufiyana music helps to have peace at heart. This folk music has been granted classical status. It has 180 mukaams or stages and, unfortunately, several stages are lost because of decline in the tradition. The Mukaam-e-Bahaar is sung at low pitch and just before the sunset,” Mr. Sheikh said.

Two well-known artisans – Ghulam Muhammad, a carpet weaver, and Abdul Rasheed, a Kani shawl weaver – threw light on the centrality gained by devotional songs, especially Sufiyana Mausiki, among the tribe of artisans from Kashmir for many decades now. Such mehfils, including night-long musical sessions, were a regular feature at the Valley’s Karkhanas or weaving centres in the past.

“Sufiyana Kalam makes us engross ourselves in the art work. It’s a powerful tool to focus and maintain attention on meticulous details while weaving carpets and shawls. It would even attract foreigners in the past,” Mr. Muhammad said.

Mr. Shah said Kunzer’s Takiya Batapora area had emerged as the centre of learning for the artisans of the entire Baramulla district at one point of time. “In 1970, the area was home to over 100 carpet looms, making it one of the biggest clusters in the district,” he added.