Sufi Fest to build bridge between India,Pak in Kashmir valley

New Delhi, June 10 (UNI) It is an event aimed at building cultural bridges between India and Pakistan and what can be a better place to kick off the 'cultural bonhomie' between the two countries than the scenic valley of Jammu and Kashmir.

A Sufi Music Festival featuring artists from India and Pakistan, will be held in Jammu and Kashmir from tomorrow.

Indian artists like the renowned sufi singer Zila Khan (daughter of Musical maestro Vilayat Khan), one of the greatest exponents of Sufi Kathak Manjari Chaturvedi, famous Santoor exponent Shiv Kumar Sharma and qawwali exponents Ghulam Sabir and Ghulam Waris (popularly known as Nizami brothers) will share the stage with famed Pakistani artists like Sufiana singers Naeem Abbas, Farhana Aijaz and Umrao Mazar Bundu Khan at the festival, being organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations in collaboration with the Government of Jammu and Kashmir and the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board.

The festival will be inaugurated on June 11 by the state Governor Lt Gen (Retd) S K Sinha while Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad will be the chief guest.

''The holding of the festival is part of the endeavour by the ICCR to build bridges between India and the World through a range of activities to promote cultural exchange between nations,''ICCR Director General Pawan K Verma said.

He said the festival, which will end on June 15, was an excellent example of building bridges of peace with Pakistan through culture.

''The essential message of Sufism is one of universal love and harmony. What makes the festival further significant is the fact that it is being held in Srinagar for the first time and that too at this juncture,''Mr Verma said.

''The participation of Pakistani artists, that too in an event being held in Jammu and Kashmir, is a step in the direction to further people-to-people contacts between the neighbouring countries through the medium of culture,'' Mr Verma added.

''Holding of such events signifies that no matter what the political differences between countries, bridges of peace can be built through the medium of culture,'' he said.

''The significance of the festival lies in the fact that it is for the first time that such an event is having the participation of Pakistani artists,'' Sufi singer Zila Khan said.

Mr Verma expressed the hope that the festival would lay the foundation and pave way for further cultural interations between India and Pakistan.

''We hope some day we will be able to send Indian artists to Pakistan to spread the message of love and brotherhood,'' Mr Verma added.

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