Music Fete “Samarpan” Kicks Off In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: The three-day festival of Sufiana “Samarpan” organised by the Bhubaneswar Music Circle began at Rabindra Mandap in the Odisha capital on Monday.

Sufi Music is arguably one of the best known mystical forms of devotional music. Having its origin in modern day Iran and Afghanistan, Sufism spans almost half the world from the plains of Africa to the eastern coast of India and onward to Indonesia.

The inaugural evening showcased Abhangs by Omkar Dadarkar, a young vocalist in the field of Hindustani Classical Music who is presently attached to ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata as a Junior Guru. Abhang is a form of devotional poetry sung in the praise of Lord Vitthala or Vithoba with shrine at Pandharpur in Maharashtra.

The last performance of the evening was Shagun and Nirgun – Sufi Musings by Dr Raja Kale. Shagun traditions believe in the material form of God, whereas Nirgun tradition believes that the Almighty is formless.

The dignitaries who graced the occasion were Abasara Beuria, Ashok Kumar Tripathy, Mahendra Mishra and Khirod Patnaik.

The programme was compared by Dr Sangeeta Gosain, Dr Adyasha Das and Isha Mishra.