For decades, Delhi has been the land of Sufi movement and served as a muse to Sufi luminaries like Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Amir Khusrau, Mirza Ghalib, and Dara Shikoh. Celebrating this Sufi legacy, rooted in the spiritual ethos of love, unity, and enlightenment, is the first edition of the Sufi Heritage Festival, organised by the Sufi Heritage Project in Delhi.
“The idea is to present something uniquely Delhi. And what better than bringing together the tenets of Sufism that best represent the culture of Delhi,” Yasmin Kidwai, founder of The Sufi Heritage Project, tells FE.
Kidwai has been part of the development and conservation of the Nizamuddin area—a district not restricted by boundaries and, in many ways, the epicentre of Sufi heritage in India. “This place has inspired me to discover how closely the local intertwines with the global—and how we are all but part of one,” says Kidwai.
The first edition is a two-day festival in collaboration with Aga Khan Trust for Culture and is being held at Sunder Nursery in Delhi from March 8-9.
“For over two decades the inter-disciplinary Aga Khan Trust for Culture team had undertaken conservation of built heritage in the Humayun’s Tomb – Nizamuddin area. This effort has always been coupled with reviving the pluralist intangible heritage of music, cuisine, craft associated with this sacred landscape. The Sufi heritage festival aims to showcase authentic Sufi experiences, which in future years will also draw upon our work from across India and abroad,” says Ratish Nanda, CEO of Aga Khan Trust for Culture India.
From music, poetry, storytelling to arts, crafts workshops and food paying homage to Delhi’s 700-year-old Sufi heritage, the festival experience is created across five curated spaces for Sufi lovers, offering a unique lens into the world of Sufism. The festival features performances by renowned artistes which include singer Rekha Bhardwaj, Nizami Brothers, Dhruv Sangari, Kabir Café, and Aditi Mangaldas among others.
With this celebration, the festival also brings a movement to preserve, reinterpret, and share the intangible heritage of Sufism across generations. Through conservation, the festival revives lost arts, music, and oral traditions, ensuring they remain relevant in today’s world.
With Aadyam Handwoven, a social enterprise of the Aditya Birla Group to create a self-sustaining ecosystem for Indian artisans, the endeavour is to take inspiration and give back to the ecosystem of art, music, culture and performing arts that lend the textiles their overall significance, authenticity and traceability.
“Our collaboration in curating a series of performances in the festival brings a fresh and evolving perspective to the mainstream. The work of Aadyam Handwoven resonates with what the festival has to offer, and together we want to see this collaboration grow in the future,” says Manish Saksena, business lead, Aadyam Handwoven on their collaboration with the festival.