JAHAN E KHUSRAU

LONDON’S SOUTHBANK CENTRE WELCOMES PRESTIGIOUS SUFI
FESTIVAL TO THE UK FOR THE FIRST TIME AS PART OF ALCHEMY – ITS
MAJOR, 11-DAY FESTIVAL OF SOUTH ASIAN CULTURE
JAHAN E KHUSRAU
DIRECTED BY MUZAFFAR ALI – THE 9 TH WORLD SUFI FESTIVAL COMES TO
SOUTHBANK CENTRE, FRIDAY 15 – SUNDAY 17 APRIL
PRESENTED BY INDIAN COUNCIL FOR CULTURAL RELATIONS IN ASSOCIATION WITH
RUMI FOUNDATION AND SOUTHBANK CENTRE
Jahan E Khusrau, the internationally renowned festival produced annually in India, comes to the UK
for the very first time as a key part of Southbank Centre’s 11-day Alchemy Festival of South Asian
culture. Conceived and designed by painter and cultural icon Muzaffar Ali, Jahan E Khusrau is
dedicated to Hazrat Amir Khusrau, the 13th-century Sufi poet saint of India. An atmospheric
celebration of the Sufi spirit of openness and freedom in a contemporary context, this prestigious
festival has become an unmissable Delhi institution over the past nine years. Now, audiences at
Southbank Centre’s iconic riverside venues and spaces will have the opportunity to experience worldclass
performing artists from across North India and Kashmir, Sufi-inspired fashion, attend expert talks,
enjoy a Sufi feast and see master calligraphers at work.
Hosting Jahan E Khusrau as part of the second-ever Alchemy Festival continues Southbank Centre’s
long history of providing a platform for Indian artists begun with performances by the great dancer Ram
Gopal and sitar legend Ravi Shakar in the 1950s – when the Royal Festival Hall was built – through to
recent appearances by composer AR Rahman and legendary singer Asha Bhosle.
Jahan E Khusrau will reveal the Sufi principles of submission and surrender through music, poetry and
design. Highlights of the three-day celebration include devotional singer Hans Raj Hans, Sufi poetry
read by Bollywood star Javed Jaffrey, Sufi Kathak dance from Manjari Chaturvedi, Sufi-inspired
fashion by Meera Ali and even live calligraphy. Scholar Syeda Hameed discusses the contemporary
Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. Chairman: Rick Haythornthwaite.
Chief Executive: Alan Bishop. Artistic Director: Jude Kelly OBE
Southbank Centre i s a Registered Charity No. 298909
Trustee: Southbank Centre Li mited, Registered in Engl and No. 2238415

elevance of Sufism, and there are film screenings of Muzaffar Ali’s exploration of the poet Rumi –
Breathe Into Me and his 1981 Bollywood classic Umrao Jaan as well as William Dalrymple and Simon
Broughton’s documentary Sufi Soul: The Mystic Music of Islam.
Throughout the weekend there will be a wide range of free, communal events including a full day of Sufi
music, painting and calligraphy in The Clore Ballroom on Saturday 16 April. Jahan E Khusrau
promises to open up one of Islam’s most unique living artistic legacies to UK audiences in a way that
has never been done before.
Muzaffar Ali, Jahan E Kushrau festival director said:
‘Delhi is not just a huge metropolis but a vast reservoir of spiritual energy of Sufi saints, which has
manifested itself in poetic thought. We hope it will fire the imagination of the youth and thus build a
powerful bridge of east-west understanding. I feel the west has always been receptive to such poetic
content and we have great hopes for London, which is a modern melting pot of cultures. Jahan E
Khusrau and the Rumi Foundation are seeking to create harmony in the world through art forms such
as poetry, calligraphy, film, music and dance.’
Jude Kelly, Artistic Director of Southbank Centre said:
‘In a time of conflict and turmoil, Southbank Centre welcomes Jahan E Khusrau’s celebration of Sufism,
which aims to bring peace and harmony through dance, music and poetry. This important weekend
exploring the artistic and spiritual element of Islam will form a key part of the second Alchemy festival,
and continues the long tradition of South Asian artists at Southbank Centre.’
Full Jahan E Khusrau event details below.
For further press information and images please contact:
Mary Rahman on 0207 749 1136 / mary@mr-pr.com
Katie Toms on 020 7921 0926 / katie.toms@southbankcentre.co.uk
Miles Evans on 020 7921 0676 / miles.evans@southbankcentre.co.uk
Southbank Centre Ticket Office:
0844 847 9910 / Book online www.southbankcentre.co.uk/alchemy

Notes to Editors:
Sufism is an Islamic mystical practice which has spanned several continents and cultures for the past
millennium and has been expressed in Persian, Arabic and Turkish. Sufi’s aim to draw their hearts
closer to God through music, poetry and dancing. The golden age of Sufism from the 13 th to 16 th
centuries produced both the poet Rumi and Hazrat Amir Khusrau, the poet and Sufi mystic known as
the father of qawwali singing, who is celebrated by the Jahan E Khusrau festival. In recent years Nusrat
Fateh Ali Khan popularised Sufi music with his acclaimed qawwali singing.
Alchemy festival is Southbank Centre’s 11-day celebration of South Asian Culture from 15-25 April.
Returning for a second year Alchemy will feature a wide-ranging programme of contemporary and
traditional music and dance, debate, literature, film, craft and fashion. Alchemy will take over the
Southbank Centre site – spilling across the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell
room, the Clore Ballroom, the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, various smaller rooms and the outdoor
spaces around the site and filling the whole centre with vibrant music, dancing, music, art, food and
performances.
Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest arts centre, occupying a 21-acre site that sits in the midst of
London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames. The site has an extraordinary
creative and architectural history stretching back to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Southbank Centre is
home to the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and the Hayward Gallery as well
as The Saison Poetry Library and the Arts Council Collection. The Royal Festival Hall reopened in June
2007 following the major refurbishment of the Hall and redevelopment of the surrounding area and
facilities.
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) was founded in 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam
Azad, independent India’s first Education Minister. The Council helps formulate and implement policies
pertaining to India’s external cultural relations, to foster mutual understanding between India and other
countries and to promote cultural exchanges with other peoples. The ICCR is about a communion of
cultures, a creative dialogue with other nations.

Jahan E Khusrau
Friday 15 – Sunday 17 April 2011
FULL LISTINGS
CALLIGRAPHY IN MOTION
The Clore Ballroom, Friday 15 April 7.30-8pm, free
Kinetic Calligraphy, conceived by Meera and Muzaffar Ali, is an innovative way of wearing Sufi script.
Over the last 21 years, they have revived the traditional craft of the Kotwara region in north India, the
historical and cultural centre which inspired the location for Muzaffar Ali’s film Umrao Jaan and Meera
Ali’s contemporary design and craft collaborations. The fashion show is accompanied by live music.
JAHAN E KHUSRAU: ANJUMAN E DIL – REALM OF THE HEART
Royal Festival Hall, Friday 15 April. 8.15pm, £35/£30/£25/£20/£15
A rare opportunity for audiences to experience the renowned devotional and Punjabi folk music
exponent Hans Raj Hans, with Sufi lyrics selected and composed by Muzaffar Ali. A vocal artist who
effortlessly encompasses these traditions and has worked alongside other renowned artists such as the
late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Hans Raj Hans has a unique ability to present Sufi music in its truest form.
He will be preceded by Sufi Kathak exponent and devotional dance specialist Manjari Chaturvedi.
Presented by Indian Council for Cultural Relations in association with Rumi Foundation and Southbank
Centre.
SUFI TONIC
The Clore Ballroom, Friday 15 April, 5.30-7pm, free
Folk music from Uttar Pradesh and Kashmir with Wajahat Hussain Badayuni and Ghulam Namtahali
Martahali.
SUFI-INSPIRED MUSIC, PAINTING AND CALLIGRAPHY
The Clore Ballroom, Saturday 16 April, 11am-5pm, free
This day of Sufi-inspired art and music will include a live demonstration of calligraphy by master artist
Anis Siddiqui presented by the Indian Council for the Promotion of Urdu Language. Audiences can
watch the experts and then create their own Sufi-inspired script. Beyond Borders is a foyer exhibition of
Indian Sufi paintings curated by Uma Prakash for the Badhera Art Gallery and the Grovesnor Gallery
London. Over lunch Sufi Folk music group Ghulam Nabi Namtahali bring the feel of Kashmir to the
Royal Festival Hall foyers.
JAHAN E KHUSRAU: ENCOUNTER 1 – CONTEMPORARY SUFISM
Purcell Room, Saturday 16 April, 1.30-2.30pm, £10
A talk on Sufism today by scholar and prolific writer Syeda Hameed, whose interests cover a vast
spectrum of areas, from women's rights to Urdu literature, criticism and translation. Syeda Hameed is
also a founder member of the Muslim Womens' Forum. The event concludes with a poetry recitation by
popular actor Murad Ali, whose passion for this genre brings a deep resonance to his readings.
JAHAN E KHUSRAU: ENCOUNTER 2 – BREATHE INTO ME

Purcell Room, Saturday 16 April, 4-5pm, £10
A film and Q&A session with Muzaffar Ali, director of both the film and the Jahan E Khusrau Festival.
JAHAN E KHUSRAU: ENCOUNTER 3 – SUFI SOUL
Purcell Room, Saturday 16 April, 6-7pm, £10
A film by Simon Broughton and William Dalrymple. The screening will be introduced by actor Murad Ali
and designer Meera Ali.
SAMA: DIVINE MUSIC
Queen Elizabeth Hall Saturday 16 April, 8pm, £25 £20 £15
A unique line-up of music, dance and poetry including Jahan E Khusrau festival director Muzaffar Ali
and popular Indian actor Javed Jaffrey. They are joined by the versatile vocalist Azalea Ray, performing
Sufiana Ghazals and known for her mastery of Bengali and Punjabi songs and classical and folk music;
outstanding dance artists Navtej Johar and Malvika Sarrukai; and Malini Awasthi, who is credited with
bringing folk and traditional music in India back to prominence singing Sufiana Kalaam. The evening
concludes with Qawwali maestro Wajahat Hussein Badayuni, known for his soulful recitals of Hazrat
Amir Khusrau’s poetry.
SUFI LANGAR
Balcony terrace Level 5, Saturday 16 April, 11am-6pm, £6
An opportunity to share the cultural convention of followers of the Sufi tradition with a delicious and
spiritually uplifting meal. Food will be available to buy on the day, members of the public should collect
a ticket from level 5 Terrace. There may be a wait for a slot to become available at particularly busy
times.
UMRAO JAAN
The Clore Ballroom at Royal, Sunday 17 April, 4pm – 6pm, free
A screening of this classic 1981 movie, inspired by the famous Lucknow courtesan and starring
Bollywood leads Rekha and Farooq Shaikh. Introduced by the director, Muzaffar Ali – unknowingly this
was his first tribute to Hazrat Amir Khusrau.