While sufi purists might look down on the 'Bollywood' artists featuring in the three-day sufi music festival Tasneem-E-Ishq, which begins today, event organisers assure us the concert will stay true to the soul of sufism <table style="width: 263px; height: 405px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="263" align="right" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td><img alt="" src="/imagedata/2010/sep/guitar1.jpg" align="right" border="5" /></td></tr> <tr> <td> Tochi Raina</td></tr></tbody></table> In a recent interview featured in this newspaper, sarangi player and classical vocalist, Ustad Sultan Khan challenged singers, claiming to spread the Sufi word through Bollywood films to compete against him. His challenge was not met, but Khan Sahab is not alone in frowning upon wannabe-Sufi artists, who he believes contribute to the commercialisation of Sufism. Yet the young team at Thinkerz Events believes that every singer who performs Bollywood-style Sufi numbers has not sold his or her soul to the devil. "Sufi music is not just restricted to filmi songs. At the same time, artistes like Kavita Seth and Tochi Raina are essentially Sufi singers although they may have performed in other genres for films," explains Rahul Kaikini, co-founder of Thinkerz. The three-day Sufi festival called Tasneem-E-Ishq will commemorate the birth anniversary of renowned Sufi poet and saint Moulana Jallaludin Rumi. The concerts will explore different facets of Sufism --from songs to a Rabab and Tambur performance, a Sufi whirling performance as well as performances by an Iranian and a Rajasthani group of artistes. "Our aim is to introduce different Sufi artists to the discerning audience. We want to go beyond the Sabri Brothers and give a chance to other artistes who have embraced Sufism in their own way," says Kaikini. u00a0 Kavita Seth and Tochi Raina, singers of the female and male versions of the hit song Iktara, are the main draws of the festival. The singers will, however, perform mostly original compositions at this festival. "This is the first time that I am getting to express my work from the Sufi genre on which I have been working for over 20 years. Along with my band Bandagi, I'll perform some original numbers that articulate a contemporary take on Sufism," says Raina about his performance. u00a0 Performance Schedule September 30: Performances by Kavita Seth, Chughe Khan and group from the Rajasthan and Percussionists from Iran. October 1: Tochi Raina with his band, Bandagi, Chithramitra, a fine artist will paint live on stage and Dancer Ziya Lamborou will blend Odissi and Sufi whirling. October 2: Sufi renditions on the Rabab and Tambur by Chintoo Singh and percussionist Rajeev K Mahavir,u00a0 performance by Munnavar Masoom and group and Sufi whirling on authentic Persian Sufi music by Ziyau00a0 Lamborou. Till:- October 2, 7 pm to 10 pm At:-u00a0Sophia Bhabha Hall, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Cumballa Hill,Breach Candy. Call:- 9820094377 Tickets:- Season pass(for all three days)--Rs 1,250, Rs 1,000, Rs 750 and Rs 500; u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0 Daily pass--Rs500,Rs 400,Rs 300 and Rs 200

'Ayodhya has moved on'

While sufi purists might look down on the 'Bollywood' artists featuring in the three-day sufi music festival Tasneem-E-Ishq, which begins today, event organisers assure us the concert will stay true to the soul of sufism

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