note to mods: pls move this to Light Classical section if you deem fit. I posted here as it is a "kutcheri" review!
I would like to file this short report of the concert by Abida Parveen on the opening day of The Hindu's Novemberfest.
The concert was really amazing. Abida Parveen has one of the most compelling strong voices I've ever heard. Every song begins with a fervent call to "Maula" and the texts are from various Sufi saints. The language and idiom are not familiar to me, but the message is hard to escape. The music is raga-based though often repetitious. But saying so would be missing the point. Vocal power, range, dexterity, ability to hit the notes spot on are gifts she has put to a higher purpose -- that of transporting the listener to an union with the divine.
Abida's gestures, expressions and total involvement in her art make her a complete and compelling performer. The famous Meera bhajan pag ghunghroo bandh meera nachi re, was presented -- the juxtaposition of Bhakti and Sufi poetry sounded natural and not at all contrived! She came back for an encore after initial bows and sang "Aray Logo Tumhara kiya, Mein Jano mera Khuda" -- this Sufi saint claimed that he was God -- an advaitic concept. Perhaps there is hope yet of a resurgence of Sufism in Islam... some time remote from now.