The Sufi mantra

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Sufism is the way of life for multi-talented Muzaffar Ali. And his life is a journey of self-discovery through films, paintings, costumes, music. This month, Jahan-e-Khusrau, the Sufi festival started by him, completed 12 years, but there’s a long way to go and much more to learn from the mystic masters, believes Muzaffar Ali.

The painter, designer, activist and revivalist is constantly campaigning for the cause of love. “Sufi poets have an answer to everything. To them, the only antidote is love. And their message needs to be propagated,” he says.
Muzaffar’s love affair with Sufism began in Kashmir when he was shooting his film Zooni on legendry Kashmiri poetess Habba Khatoon. “While Zooni still remains my unfinished dream, the Valley added a purpose to my life. It was the time when the turmoil started there, I felt the Sufi tradition of the land can soothe souls,” he says. “I explored the idea further and realised that the thought has a universal appeal,” he says.
Now, through Jahan-e-Khusrau, Muzaffar aims to find a solution to worldly strife and anguish. “I keep looking for the poetry, particularly of the lesser known poets, for the annual fest. Every year, we have many new artistes joining us along with legends like Abida Parveen and Shafqat Ali Khan, who bring freshness to the fest,” he says.
Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan has done great service to make Sufi poets relevant to the youth, says Muzaffar. “With new-age singers giving voice to various renditions of the Sufi poets, the youth are connecting to them in a big way,” he says.
While his period drama Umrao Jaan still fascinates, he’s now working on two scripts. “One on Rumi and another on Noor Jehan. I am waiting for a producer to show interest,” he says. “But Bollywood is going through a ‘problem’ phase,” he adds quickly. “If you want to create something of value, you have to have big stars. Today’s films have a lot of vulgarity and violence. We need to have a global way of looking at films and that’s how we can bring in quality to the content,” he says.
Asked how tough is it to find time to pursue all his many varied passions, he laughs, “I am not working for anyone, so I have all the time to pursue my madness.”
As a fashion designer with his wife Meera, Muzaffar has been working as a revivalist, promoting chikankari and zardozi artisans from his native place Kotwara, UP. Through their program, “Dwar Pe Rozi”, the couple is working on employment-oriented education for rural girls. They have also set up training centers for women there. Here again, he has another plan.
He’s contemplating a Sufi tourism program for Kotwara, which is aimed at promoting crafts, and preventing migration of the artisans.
“With the migration of poor rural artisans to big cities, art is getting lost. The idea is to have a model program, through which we can create better employment opportunities for them and save art forms,” says Muzaffar, who belongs to the Royal Muslim Rajput family of Kotwara.