Sonam Kalra: I’m not just fusing music but ideologies

The richness and wonder of Sufi music and poetry are unfathomable. Adding a small but significant drop to this ocean of devotion is the work of multiple-award winning singer-composer Sonam Kalra. No wonder then that the recent Global Music Awards 2023, announced her as the Gold Medal Winner for Best Female Vocalist and Best Protest Music for her song Bol and Silver Medal Winner for Outstanding Achievement in World Fusion Music for her song, Alfat. 

The song Bol is based on the poetry of Faiz Ahmad Faiz wheeras Alfat is an adaptation of poet-saint Baba Bulleh Shah’s work. And it’s the power of the written word in both of her original compositions that Kalra vouches for: “I’ve often been called a musician with a message because for me, it’s always been about using my music to put forth the power of the written word and create a shift that makes the listeners think… A listener wrote to me a couple of days ago, saying, ‘I’ve been unable to unsee the visuals of the Manipur violence, and one hour of listening to your music gave me a sense of calm.’ This is what I aim to create music for!”

Known for her brainchild The Sufi Gospel Project, Kalra believes she’s able to take “age-old Sufi poetry and translate it into the present day” not only because it touches and moves her but because despite this poetry being written so many years ago, it carries a message that’s still relevant. “I want other people to think of what these poets were trying to say through their powerful words, and the messages they were trying to put forth… When I chose the words of Hazrat Shah Niyaz’s poem Man Manam, to compose for MTV Coke Studio, I did so because of a beautiful verse at the end, which basically tells us that we are all children of the same God,” she recalls, and further states, “My mother, Aneeta Kalra also wrote a beautiful couplet talking about the same philosophy, which I incorporate into the song — Guru mere saath khade hai, Govind yahi toh hai, Allah bhi maujood hai yahaan, Toh kaun kahan se hai.”

The words she chooses are quite potent and propel the emotion and need “to accept each other’s differences and individuality”. With this intent to mend bridges between warring humans, the artiste recounts what made her conceive the fast-paced song, Alfat. “The poetry of Baba Bulleh Shah says, ‘My guru taught me a lesson that my temple, my shrine, my church and my mosque are not within the four walls of a building but within the walls of my heart and of every person I see’… I wanted to create a piece that would make people want to get up and celebrate this beautiful truth,” says Kalra, who is now collaborating with a female Iranian graphic artist and animator for her next project.

Author tweets @hennarakheja

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