People offer prayers five times a day, Lovers pray at all time, They never let go of prayer, Even if they're tied to the cross.

Saieen Zahoor's melodious voice resonated these beautiful verses over the strains of the ek-tara on a balmy summer evening at Peeru's Café in Lahore, recently.

The event was the three-day Mystic Music Sufi Festival by the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop (RPTW) and the timing was perfect. Never has the message of Sufism been as relevant for Pakistan as now. But we shall come to that later.

Those who have watched the RTPW repertoire would agree that their acts are always well-packaged and aesthetic, even if it is the smallest of events like the folk puppet festival. And indeed holding such events now — in the face of monstrous recession and even more monstrous insecurity — is a feat worth giving credit to. It was a brave step on the part of the Peerzadas to put the act together given that they had no sponsors and that their last major event — the World Performing Arts Festival — was rocked by three blasts that put a dent in the confidence of the participating international performers and the families that flocked to the venue with little ones in tow. Nevertheless, the RPTW managed to organise the Sufi fest despite a refusal from even the performers of Muslim countries to participate.

It was a treat to see the performances set against the pristine white-domed backdrop. The venue is at the farthest end of Lahore in the personal estate of the Peerzadas who have reserved it for all their future events. It also seems that the decision of the RPTW to buy their own lights, sounds, props and stage equipment together with this estate some 10 years ago was quite wise for it now saves them more than half the cost of organising events.

The festival brought together some great performers of Sufi music and poetry including some new ones. These included Fakir Abdul Wahid, Taj Mastani, Shah Jo Rag Fakirs, Akbar Khamiso Khan and Jamal Din Fakir from Sindh; Saieen Zahoor, Surraiya Multanikar, Surraiya Khanum, Rizwan Moazzam Qawwal, Iqbal Bahoo, Imran Aziz Qawwal, Ustad Hussain Bux Gullu, Sher Miandad, Ghulam Muhammad Chand, Wahdat and Hasnain, Chand and Sooraj Khan, Pappu Saieen, Goonga and Mithu Saieen, Mehmood Farid Qawwal, Mansoor Malangi and Allah Ditay Lonay Wala from Punjab; Akhtar Chinar Zehri from Balochistan and Zarsanga from NWFP. However, disappointment for fans of Abida Parveen loomed large as she couldn't make it to the event due to a delayed flight after her string of concerts in the UAE.

Some great performances at the festival were by Saien Zahoor who is now a confirmed crowd puller. He sang Heer by Waris Shah, Toomba Kehnda Allah Hu by Waris Shah and Maqaam-i-Ishq by Baba Bulleh Shah. Pappu Saien with another dholia and two dhamalis veritably rocked. The way he built his act to a crescendo and then let go to a slow pace sent the audience to raptures. The Shah Jo Rag Fakirs were another sublime and gentle act as they played their ek-taras to the rendition of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai's timeless poetry. It would have been a good idea, however, if the RPTW had arranged for translations of the renditions for those who could not comprehend the languages.

For instance, I wished I could have known what the narrator said in Persian during Pappu Saien's dhamaal. The festival also brought some fine heritage art to light with Ghulam Muhammad Chand who sang the sacred Sikh hymns called Kirtans. Chand's lineage can be traced back to Bhai Mardana who accompanied Baba Nanak on his journeys and the rababis who accompanied Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh.

I personally became a fan Surraiya Khanum at the festival. Listening to her live for the first time was quite an experience. The austere singer was extraordinary because she sang from her heart and chose from the choicest of Sufi poetry gems in her repertoire. She started with Baba Farid's Mainda Ishq Vi Tuu and though no one can match the Late Pathanay Khan's magical rendition, she moved many with her powerful voice. She graduated to Shah Hussain's Maaien Ne Main Kinnu Aakhaan and finished off with Baba Bulleh Shah's Nee main Kamli Aan which was simply entrancing.

The fact that the words of the great Sufi poets continue to enrapture a multitude of people in the subcontinent and the world proves that the message in the verses still touches a deep chord within. The Sufis expounded hard inner work to remove the fundamental veil (the ego) between man and his Creator, while reaching his highest potential in the world. It must be noted that the greatest of Sufi masters were also great scientists, mathematicians, scholars of religion and science such as Imam Ghazali, Ibn-i-Khaldun, Bu Ali Sina and many more. These men were also devout Muslims who followed shariah, produced fine works of arts and sciences and lived to achieve their highest potentials.

Though the subcontinent produced some of the greatest Sufi poets, the people in this part of the world have sadly treated Sufism with the extreme either putting the Sufis on a pedestal of veneration and following the science of Sufism as a ritual minus its essence of clarified intent, courage, generosity and trust; or they have completely abandoned it as shirk and opted for an orthodox interpretation that is devoid of tolerance and humility.

As more mayhem ensues with each passing day, I wonder if our nation will ever look inward and contemplate how their own muddled inner cosmos has superimposed to their outer existence, if it will ever have the courage to slay their inner demons and then confront the outer monsters as a unified people.

1. Shah Jo Rag Fakirs
2. Taj Mastani
3. Pappu Saieen
4. Zarsanga
5. Surriya Multanikar