MUMBAI: Turn to the history of Sufism and you will find the pure, beautiful and raw form of Sufi Music in the form of poems, written by Sufi poets like Rumi, Amir Khusrow, and Hafiz.
Undeniably, anything is beautiful when served in its natural form but experimentation may end up giving some unique results too. This happened in the case of Sufi music when singers like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen and Sabri Brothers got inspired by the works of Sufi poets and offered something magnificent to the music industry.
While several good Sufi tracks abound, we present you the best ones from the list.
Sanso Ki Mala- Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Originally, this song is a bhajan sung by Meerabai, the devotee of Lord Krishna, which the legendary vocalist Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan adapted to his own mellifluous tones.
This one tops our list for offering pure musical ecstasy.
Dama Dam Mast Qalandar- Runa Laila
Too many facts connected to this popular Sufi song! Written, created, recreated, modified repeatedly by various artists, it is a traditional song in Punjabi, initially written by Amir Khusrow and further modified by Baba Bulleh Shah. Interestingly the same song is also sung by Hindu Sindhis to praise Hindu mystic ‘Jhulelal’.
While many famous Indian and Pakistani singers like Abida Parveen, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Wadali Brothers, Mika Singh made this song popular, Runa Laila a Bangladeshi singer is credited with making it extremely popular.
Tere Bin Nahi Jeena- Kachhe Dhaage
Words fail us when we try to define the musical genius of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. This song is Nusrat’s original work that he revised for the movie ‘Kachhe Dhaage’.
The legendary Lata Mangeshkar has sung this piece.
Kun Faaya Kun- Rockstar
Rockstar movie’s whole album is outstanding but this one Sufi track is simply a class apart. An amazing composition, sung by A R Rahman, Javed Ali and Mohit Chauhan is one of the most authentic compositions so far.
Khwaja Mere Khwaja- Jodha Akbar
All the brilliance in one song, ‘Khwaja Mere Khwaja’, written by Javed Akhtar and sung by A.R Rahman, Javed Ali and Mohammad Aslam.
Lambi Judai- Reshma
This soulful Sufi song can bring tears to anybody’s eyes. The famous singer Reshma sung this song for the blockbuster movie Hero starring Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Seshadri.
Saiyyan- Kailash Kher
This is undoubtedly Kailash Kher’s magnum opus. Beautiful lyrics filled with emotions, this song necessary in the playlist of every Sufi music lover.
Arziyan- Delhi 6
Another A.R Rahman’s creation to the list is the superb song from the movie ‘Delhi-6’. Singers Javed Ali and Kailash Kher add the magical touch to this melody with their singing.
Iktara- Wake Up Sid!
Amit Trivedi made it to this list with this composition. With Kavita Seth singing the song, this song deserves much more appreciation than it received at the time of the film's release, we feel.
Mann Ki Lagan- Paap
We end the list with this song proving that music excellence is in the genes. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, nephew of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan bagged fame in India with this Sufi track from the film ‘Paap’.