Qawaali, the physical and musical manifestation of the Sufi religious tradition having its roots in intending to bring everyone involved to a spiritual union with God.
Curated by the founder of Sufi Kathak Foundation, Manjari Chaturvedi, The Qawwali Photo Project documented the lives of the faceless practitioners of the 700-year-old art form. The exhibition attempted to underscore the importance of remembering these artists who have been largely forgotten.
It was a first-of-its-kind effort to document the qawwals’ intoxicating performances, their lives, and their association with the Sufi shrines where they perform. The exhibition was at the India International Centre, New Delhi featuring photographs by Dinesh Khanna, Leena Kejriwal and Mustafa Quraishi. Dinesh Khanna documented the important shrines of Delhi, Amritsar, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Ajmer, while Quraishi’s pictures tell stories of Dewa Sharif and Safipur and explores the Shaheen Bagh resistance at Delhi. Kejriwal captures the women qawwali performers such as Chanchal Bharti who break the barriers of a largely patriarchal tradition.
Photo Exhibition: The Qawwali Project
Start Date: 17-11-2021 • End Date: 28-11-2021
Venue: India International Center
