Sufi music seems to have got Bollywood into a whirl, if one were to go only by some of the recent hits dominating the airwaves. Recently Kavita Seth’s ‘Ik Tara’ has created quite a furore and everyone liked the song. Earlier ‘Malua Mere’ from Anwar or A R Rehman’s ‘Tere Bina’ from the movie Guru or ‘Ya Ali’ from the movie Gangster ruled the charts for a long time.

And of course, not to forget Kailash Kher whose voice has actually got a sufi touch. The Hindi film industry has been credited with popularizing this genre of music. Abida Parveen and the late Nustrat Fateh Ali Khan are responsible for taking Sufi and qawwali to new heights. Both made the rich religious poetry of the Sufi tradition even more magical, bringing words and music together in an ecstatic celebration of the divine.

What is Sufi Music? It’s a combination of melody and lyric that is believed to make God accessible to the devotee, transcending all religious barriers. It is a genre so mystical that it makes materialism of any kind irrelevant. However, it has become the formula for a box office hit and its elements find their way into every sound track. It is coming out of car stereos and mobile phones and is melodiously weaving its magic.

Here we have a few Bollywood sufi singers who have started the sufi singing all over again …