Songs of Sufi Basant

Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya is recognised as the greatest Sufi saint of his times and his broad-mindedness, liberal attitude, and religious tolerance brought him immense popularity. The celebration of Basant at his Shrine is ecstatic, the mood a euphoric yellow, every one dressed in yellow and random showering of yellow petals all the while the Qawwals are singing songs of spring and Basant.

A tradition that started during his lifetime, sometime in 13th century, continues unbroken till date even after seven hundred years.

The Qawwali Project is an initiative conceptualized by Manjari Chaturvedi where the untold story of Qawwali unfolds through the eyes of photographers.

The practitioners are photo-documented with their performance art, their lives and their association with the Sufi shrines where they perform.

Qawwali is the performance art and Qawwal is the practitioner. This is an attempt by the Sufi Kathak Foundation to document the traditions as they exist at the shrines itself.

Basant is typically a Hindu festival that marks the arrival of spring and is uniquely celebrated at most Sufi Shrines in the subcontinent and the largest all day celebration held at the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia, often referred to as Mahboob-e-Ilahi (The Beloved of God) and recognized as the greatest Sufi saint of his times. 

The shrine is bedecked with yellow flowers, the people all dressed in yellow and the offerings of typically yellow mustard flowers are made by the Qawwals.

They walk in a procession singing songs of Basant, largely written by Amir Khusrau, the favorite disciple, murid, of the Saint. The images are shot in movement, with the photographer keeping pace with the musicians.

Qawwali Practitioner: Yousuf Nizami and Nizami Brothers

Prayers - at times spoken, at times sung, - are uttered all day at the shrine especially on Basant. The Qawwals describe a typical scene of Basant, of a waning winter day of a blooming yellow mustard field, with the promise of heralding spring, the women all decked in finery, the birds singing and flowers everywhere.

And thus we come to the threshold of Nizamuddin holding the chadar (long woven decorated cloth) and these mustard flowers as a offering to the Beloved Pir.

In the line of spiritual succession in Chistiya Silsila after Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti of Ajmer, the responsibility of Delhi was bestowed upon Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki. Basant is typically a Hindu festival that marks the arrival of spring and is uniquely celebrated at most Sufi Shrines in the subcontinent. 

The shrine is bedecked with yellow flowers, the people all dressed in yellow and the offerings of typically yellow flowers, accompanied by Qawwal walking and singing the songs that are especially dedicated to basant.

Qawwali Practitioner: Qutubi Brothers