A multidimensional five day long programme of tribal, folk and Indian art and culture lokrang 2014 organised at Ravindra Bhawan concluded here on Thursday with a splendid performance by renowned Sufi singer, Zila Khan.

To observe the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi as Shaeed Diwas, Sufi singer Zila Khan from Delhi gave live performance of sufi songs in a concert Peer Parai Jaane re....... on the concluding evening of cultural concert organised by Directorate of Swaraj Sansthan.

With an empowering melodious voice, Zila Khan began her performance with one of the famous bhajans ‘Vaishnav Jan to tene kahiye’. Her performance then was followed with the bhajans like ‘Raghupati Raghav  Raja Ram’, ‘Thaap Tialk’, mellow songs like ‘Kesariya Balam’, ‘Khwaja Mere Khwaja’, ‘Ishwar Tero Naam’. She then gave an overwhelming performance with the ghazals like ‘Ab Jaane Ki Zidd Na Karo’, ‘Baat Niklegi toh Door Talak Jayegi’.  As she began singing one of the most lover qawallis ‘Damadam Mast Kalandar’ the audience began tapping their foot with the rhythm of the music. It was a mesmerizing performance for the art appreciaters of the city.

She was accompanied by Shabbir Hassan on Tabla, Ishtiyaq Khan on dholak, Shahid on keyboard, Rishi on guitar, Nafees Ahmed on harmonium and Vidhyadhar Bankhere on Flute.

Notably, Zila Hussain Khan is an Indian sufi singer. She sings classical and semi-classical musical forms and performs in the tradition of Imdadkhani gharana. Daughter of sitar maestro Ustad Vilayaat Khan, she has mastered all her father's compositions. He empowered her to perform in a formal ceremony which he documented in his life documentary. She is the first woman in her gharana to learn and perform music. She also has the distinction of being the only woman so far from this family to have learnt music formally from her father and perform publicly, a lineage of seven generations of sitar maestros behind her and four generations of recorded music from her great grandfather Imdad Khan's recordings.