Madan Gopal weaves Sufi mystique,leaves crowd dazzled

Dr Singh’s amazing knowledge of the cultural heritage of undivided India was impressive indeed. He interspersed the songs with his quotes from Rumi,Kabir,and even sang his translation of a John Lennon hit. His accompanists for the performance,as he interestingly pointed out,were from all religions – Pritam Ghosal on sarod,Zakir Dholpuri on the harmonium,Gurmeet Singh on the tabla,and the fourth who could not make it to Chandigarh today — Deepak Castelano who plays the dhol. Dr Singh did not specify his own religion. But then,one who is a sufi at heart does not need to.

The performance would have stayed magical from beginning to end had Dr Singh not decided to sing poems by some other poets. ‘Ucchiyan lammiyaan taaliyan ve beliya’ was lovable. The other lyrics were good too,but not what an evening immersed in sufi music is made of. He sang a couple of lyrics composed a poet from Chandigarh,and another from Punjab.

Thankfully,at the end of the performance he sang Heer – a timeless classic which never fails to delight. His performance was a promise of more such evenings that can be even more enriching. The concert was organised by SPICMACAY,in collaboration with Indian Council for Cultural Relations.