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Mela Chiraagaa’n | ਮੇਲਾ ਚਿਰਾਗਾਂ | میلہ چراغاں
Sufi Poetry of Madho Lal Hussain
Artistes
Mela Chiraagaa’n…
…a MELA of Sufi kalaam, woven with music and narration
…a MELA that brings Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims together to celebrate a poet from Punjab’s soil
…a MELA that dissolves boundaries of gender, caste, class, religion
The earthy kalaam of 16th century Sufi faqeer Shah Hussain is an inseparable part of Punjab’s soil, its consciousness, its ‘khalqat’, the people of ‘Sanjha’ Punjab. Weaver, mystic, poet, Shah Hussain kept away from ‘peeri’, ‘meeri’, all kinds of high sounding titles, he lives in our hearts as ‘faqeer nimaana’ (the lowly faqeer).
Mela Chiraaga’an Urs is celebrated every year in remembrance of this poet faqeer Shah Hussain and his beloved disciple, a Hindu Brahmin boy Madho Lal, as they lie buried in their twin graves near Lahore. So inextricably connected, Shah Husain is also remembered as Madho Lal Hussain. 2024 marks Madho lal Hussain’s 436th Urs, his death anniversary, a celebration of the final union with the beloved divine ( ‘Urus’ in Arabic is a wedding)
This Mela, a confluence of his poetry, woven with music and narrative, is his journey as a Julaaha (weaver), a ‘malaamati’, as Faqeer Nimaana, the lowly faqeer. It celebrates Punjab’s common cultural landscape, the common poetry, the language, the voice, which remains one despite the border that separates us.
Supported by:
Artistes
Radhika Sood Nayak
Radhika’s love for Sufi music was kindled by 17th century Sufi mystic Baba Bulleh Shah’s poetry. Starting her journey with Mumbai Kabir Festival, she has travelled with her songs to Kabir Yatras in Rajasthan, Malwa, Telangana, Delhi and other music festivals. Another Sufi faqeer from Punjab, Shah Hussain’s poetry has inspired her to compose, create music videos, collaborate with theatre artistes from Lahore and handloom artistes from Kuchh, and most recently, curate a musical narrative called ‘Mela Chiraagaan – Madho Lal Hussain’.
After an MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur, Radhika worked in Unilever and ANZ Grindlays before
immersing herself in music.
Neil Mukherjee
Neil Mukherjee is a guitarist, award-winning music composer, music producer from Kolkata and Founder member of Kolkata rock band Krosswindz. Trained in both Indian and western systems of music, Neil has over twenty-five years of experience in Bollywood and Tamil film music industry, and has worked with leading Indian music directors which include Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and AR Rahman. He currently lives and works in Mumbai as a music composer/producer and session guitar player for the advertising and film industry.
Vinayak Netke
Tabla artist Vinayak Netke began at 5, learning from Acharya Jialal Vasant and Suresh Wadkar. He has composed fusion albums, created music for TV/ads including MTV, Polo and Lloyd. His debut film Michael was screened at Toronto, London, Shanghai fests. Rhythm arranger for National Anthem, Vinayak regularly jams with jazz pianists and Balkan bands in India and Europe. He is also a member of global fusion band RRC. He has accompanied Dr. L Subramaniam, Lata Mangeshkar, Ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali, Smt. Kishori Amonkar, Dr N Rajam, among others. And played for composers Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Vishal Bhardwaj.
