Hebrew bhajans set to desert song

MUMBAI:An Israeli who sings qawwali in Hebrew? Who would have thought? That's whatmakes Shye Ben-Tzur one of the most intriguing acts of the Kala Ghoda ArtsFestival. Instead of qawwali, however, Ben-Tzur will sing devotional songs inHebrew accompanied by Rajasthani folk musicians.The 33-year-oldformer rock musician has lived in India for ten years and has made Jaipur hishome. A bansuri player, Ben-Tzur was tutored by Hariprasad Chaurasia, who he hadseen in concert with Zakir Hussain in Israel. It was the qawwals of Ajmer'sDargah Sharif, a shrine to the Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisty, who gotBen-Tzur hooked to qawwali. The singer and composer says that he was moved whenshown a side of Islam so far removed from a popular imagining of Islam as anorthodox religion. "I felt so much love for the music and tradition of India,''Ben-Tzur says. "I come from a country with so many religious challenges.'' Headded: "As I took interest, it touched very deep. But the words, I could notunderstand in the beginning. The reason I sing in Hebrew is because this is mylanguage.'' Even though he understands the words now, Ben-Tzur feels he can'texpress his feelings effectively in a language other than his mothertongue.The language seems to fit the rhythms of the music, ifYoutube clips of Ben-Tzur's performances are any indication. (Ben-Tzur too fitsthe part with his longish, dark hair and embroidered sherwani.) The music andwords work well together, he believes, because both are "very trancy, veryrhythmic''. The singer employs a number of Rajasthani folk music stylesincluding music by the manganiyar community.When he's not travellingaround Rajasthan imbibing the state's folk music or giving concerts across thecountry, Ben-Tzur performs in Israel. His debut album, Heeyam, is acollaboration of Indian and Israeli musicians. "I perform all the time inIsrael,'' he says. "I guess they like it a lot.''