Indo-Pak sufi music festival kicks off in Kashmir

Srinagar, June 11 (UNI) A five-day Indo-Pak sufi music festival aimed at building cultural bridges between the two neighbouring countries was inaugurated here today.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Lt Gen (Retd) S K Sinha inaugurated the festival, organised jointly by the Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), Doordarshan and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) here this evening.

Pakistani artists such as Sufiana singers Naeem Abbas Rufi, Farhana Aijaz and Umrao Mazhar Bundhu Khan wiil perform during the five-day festival, being organised in cooperation with the Jammu and Kashmir Information and Tourism Departments.

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 also present their scintillating performance.

Pandit Bhajan Sopori and Abhay Sopori, Ustad Ghulam Mohammad Saaznawaz, Manjri Chaturvedi, Rahul Sharma, Rasheed hafiz, Anwar Khan, Wadali brothers, Yaqub Sheikh, Barkat Sidhu, Idu Sharief, Mohammad Abdullah Sentari, Dr Madan Gopal Singh, Gulfam Sabiri and Prof Mohan Singh Khangrao are the other performers.

Union Tourism Minister Ambika Soni, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, his Cabinet colleagues besides several senior civil, police and Army officials attended the festival.

While the festival would be held for the first three days at the SKICC here, it will move to Baramulla on June 14 and the next day proceed to the world famous tourist resort of Pahalgam.

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