The grandeur of the verses penned by legendary sufi poets Waris Shah and Baba Bulleshah were set to mystic tunes by Satinder Sartaj. The sufi singer regaled the audience at Tagore Theatre on Monday evening. Frowned upon for his style of dressing,he placed a black turban over his shoulder-length hair and used kohl to look the part of a traditional sufi singer. I am inspired by nature, said a reticent Sartaj,who was recently accused of plagiarism. He had used singer Tarlok Judges lyrics without permission. Unperturbed by the legal wrangles,the singer began his recital in Chandigarh with his chartbuster Sai,and followed it with the famous Waris Shah Heer. The sufi tracks were interspersed with humourous songs describing his years as a student in Panjab University. I will sing new songs today,and you will love them all, he promised the audience. Occasionally,Sartaj left the harmonium and danced to the groovy beats. Born in Hoshiarpur,the signer is extremely popular among the Punjabi diaspora. After completing his Phd with a specialisation in sufi poetry and style of music from Panjab University,he also attained a diploma in Persian. It was was to get access to rich sufi literature written by the likes of Rumi and Shams-i-Tabrizi, says Sartaj.
