On a powerful vocalist from the heart of Punjab -- Swarn Noora, who is slated to perform on the first day of Ruhaniyat, the annual mystic music festival

Ruhaniyat, the music festival that has brought some of the best Sufiyana Kalam repertoire to the city, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.



An impressive line-up of artists have been invited from across the country this year including celebrated talent such as Rajasthan's Kachra Khan and Parvathy Baul from Bengal.

One unsung, untapped talent that caught our eye on the list was Swarna Noora from Punjab, who will perform on November 20. Shefali Bhushan traced the folksy, blues singer, six years ago to a village near Jalandhar. The 39 year-old Bhushan, who runs www.beatofindia.com, a website that documents India folk music had been tipped off about Noora by a National School of Drama student.

"She sang frequently for AIR Jalandhar," says Bhushan of her first link to the singer. Noora had a striking, unforgettable voice. Bhushan showed up in Noora's village only to find her house locked. "They were single room brick tenements. We waited for a few hours and had almost given up when Noora arrived," recalls Bhushan of the singer, whose voice reminded her of Pakistan's folk singer Reshma.

Noora's story is that of struggle and courage. Her mother Bibi Nooran was an accomplished singer. "She was a spunky woman who even had an LP recording on HMV to her name. For her time, that was a big deal. But she didn't teach her daughter. Noora grew up with music all around her and an unfulfilled desire to sing," says Bhushan. Noora was married off to Sohan Lal, who belonged to a family of qawwals and an accomplished performer himself.

Noora, who continued to yearn to be a singer, fell ill. When all medicines failed, her husband found himself helpless and is said to have asked her what was ailing her. Noora expressed a desire to sing. "He was a strict guru I'm told. He was known to slap her in public when she hit a wrong note. He felt that being the daughter of such a talented singer, she couldn't let her lineage down," says Bhushan. A few years after Noora began touring together with her husband, she lost him to an epidemic.

Once again left without a mentor and the head of her family, Noora struggled to come back to music. "She found it tough to carry her musical group forward," says Bhushan, who managed to convince Noora to not only record but also perform at a packed concert held in Delhi's Habitat centre in 2005.

If her story isn't compelling enough, the voice should draw you to Ruhaniyat this year. "There's this raw energy in her voice. She has a spontaneous richness and flair. She's inherited a legacy which is why she can burst into a complex alaap which will take years of classical training to imbibe," says Bhushan.

Schedule >>>
November 20
Mystic Chants - Buddhist Monks (Tibet)
Sufi Kalam - Swarna Noora (Punjab)
Mysticu00a0 Jhumur - Salabat Mahato (Bengal)
Sufi Kalam - Kachra Khan & Group (Rajasthan)
Tannoura - Whirling Dervishes (Egypt)
Sundanese Mystic songs - Ade Suparman with Yusdiana (Indonesia)
Sufi Qawwali - Timmu Gulfam (Jaipur, Rajasthan)

November 21
Bharud & Abhang - Avdhoot Gandhi (Maharashtra)
Jikr- Jari - Hafiza Begum Chaudhury & Group (Assam)
Mystic songs - Mahesharam & Group (Rajasthan)
Baul songs - Parvathy Baul (Bengal)
Arabic Sufi Songs - Yasir Bakr, Mohammad Farghaly & Group (Egypt)
Tanoura - Whirling Dervishes (Egypt)
Sufi Qawwali - Nizami Brothers (Delhi)

On November 20 and 21, 6.30 pm onwards at Horniman's Circle, near Asiatic Library, Fort.u00a0Tickit Rs 500 per day, available at Rhythm House, Kala Ghoda. Call 43222727