Oneness of faith and divinity in Sufi raqs by Rani Khanum

Rani Khanum presented Ruhaniyat, an evening of Sufi kalam and raqs, at the Stein Auditorium at the IHC in Delhi in November 2023. This was hosted by Aamad Dance Centre and accompanying her were Amaan Ali on tabla, Shuheb Hasan and Zohaib Hasan on vocals, Bhola Kumar on dholak and Fateh Ali on sitar. 

Rani looked pristine in her white costume and against a latticed panel in the background with blue lighting, she looked ethereal. She opened her recital with ‘Jara Kholoji Kiwariya Maharaj’, penned by the eminent poet Hamid Kalkattawala. This composition describes the bond between the peer or guru and the disciple, whence the peer takes the disciple to god. Rani Khanum depicted the seeker going to the peer, chadar choomna or kissing the pious cloth and seeking its blessings. 

In her qawwali-style gat with clapping, she depicted the angst of the seeker, who is like a fish without water, a bee without the lotus. The seeker wants to renounce the world, become a jogan, remove her ornaments and the worldly covering. She goes knocking on the door of the peer and is elated when the door is opened. The different styles and rhythms of clapping used were impressive. 

The second piece was a kalam rooted in the bhakti tradition, written by Nawab Sadiq Jung Bahadur of Hyderabad, ‘Kanhaiya Yaad Hai Kuch Bhi Hamari’. In the abhinaya, she showed the seeker like a gopi who, after separation, gives an ulahana or complains to Kanhaiya that he has forgotten all Yamuna kinara, the panghat where they met and embraced. Rani Khanum showed the murli posture and the gopi kissing the hand of her lord. In this piece, she included footwork, uthan and natwari. 

 

The next segment was a zikir, ‘Mur Monot Bhed Bhav Nahin Allah’. This was popular in Assam, promoted by Sufi saint Ajan Fakir. The composition is about jaativaad and communalism. A baby at birth knows no differences, the clouds and the water knows none either, and neither does death. The music and the vocals had an Assamese flavour. Rani Khanum started by depicting the rowing of a boat. She drew lines and then showed the rain water wiping them out. The fish, the peacock, the birds, the elephant and the ants are all His creatures. Rani Khanum showed the bhed bhav with alternating her palms and the backs of her hands. The highlight of the composition were the lyrics and music in Assamese style, and her interpretation in Kathak using gat and footwork with tinkling, rattling ghunghroos.

 

 Pics: Anoop Arora