A sufi sojourn for Bangalore's music lovers

Sick of all the Valentine’s Day mush on TV and even in the city’s entertainment options? Take a different route with a Sufi music concert. Saugaat, meaning ‘gift’ in Hindi, is an evening of Sufi music, for a good cause, to boot.
Organised by Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya to raise funds for its residential school in Dharwad that provides free musical and academic education to children from marginalised families, Saugaat will feature a performance by Sufi Singer Mir Mukhtiyar Ali, who has beguiled audiences all over the world with his voice.
Coming from the semi-nomadic Mirasi Community which hails from the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, Mukhtiyar represents the 26th generation which has successfully kept alive the oral tradition of Sufiana Qalam.
“Music is my life,” says Mukhtiyar. “Only when one loses oneself does he become a Sufi.” For him, that meant doing a lot of odd jobs till 2002, when he found his calling in Sufi music. The event is supported by the Sarojini Trust for Music, Art, Culture and Welfare, a public charitable trust that works in Pugal, Rajasthan and has been founded by Ali and music patron Aruna Kalahastri.
It runs a learning centre, or Pathshala, to train students in Sufi music and other traditional performing arts, visual arts, and crafts,withamissionofstrengthening tribal societies and preserving traditional indigenous knowledge, especially folk music.
Take a voyage into the world of mysticism in the company of greats like Bulleh Shah and Kabir with this performance. Saugaat, 6 pm to 9 pm on Feb 22 at Alliance Francaise, Vasanthnagar. Call 9945023222 for tickets; Rs 2,000