VINIKA VISWAMBHARAN | NT BUZZ
Rain has a way of making people pause. Perhaps that is why Goa’s monsoon feels like the perfect setting for an evening of qawwali, where every verse asks listeners to slow down, reflect, and listen as much with the heart as with the ears.
When Tasawwur Qawwali Ensemble takes the stage at ‘Malhar and the Sea’ on July 24, audiences can expect soaring vocals and infectious rhythms. But for founder and lead vocalist Shivam Bharadwaj, the performance is about far more than music.
“Qawwali is about delivering the message of peace and love,” he says. “Today, it has become a source of entertainment. Earlier, it was performed in khanqahs (spiritual centres) and spiritual gatherings. Once something becomes commercialised, it is no longer experienced in its actual sense.”
It is this original spirit that Shivam and his ensemble are determined to preserve. A student of Hindustani classical music for nearly 15 years, Shivam says qawwali quietly found him long before he ever performed it. “I always listened to the ‘kalams’, the devotional poems, and the poetry itself brought me closer to this music,” he recalls.
That connection eventually led to the formation of Tasawwur Qawwali Ensemble in Goa during the COVID-19 lockdown, when a group of musicians from different parts of the country found themselves in the state and simply came together to play.
The ensemble’s name hints at its artistic vision. Derived from an old Urdu word meaning ‘imagination’, Tasawwur reflects the inward journey that lies at the heart of Sufi poetry, where devotion, longing, and self-discovery intertwine.
Led by Shivam on vocals and harmonium, the ensemble also features Saksham Bharadwaj and Varun Sharma on vocals, Yash Nirwan on sitar and Amarjeet Singh on table. While many contemporary qawwali acts experiment with fusion, electronic arrangements and commercial formats, they have consciously chosen another path. Together, they remain committed to presenting qawwali in its traditional form. “We want to keep the traditional ‘kalams’ alive in their raw, established form,” says Shivam.
The decision is not about resisting change for its own sake. Instead, Shivam believes the poetry deserves to remain at the centre of every performance. “People often think these are romantic poems,” he notes. “But the beloved in these verses is not just a person. It is the Divine, or the spiritual master. That message of love, harmony, and oneness is what qawwali is really about.”
Shivam knows that qawwali, in its traditional form, is not for everyone, and he is at peace with that. “If there are 100 people listening and even 10 or 20 understand what we are trying to convey, that is enough for us,” he says. “Everyone experiences art differently.”
That sense of authenticity extends to the stage. In Hindustani classical music and traditional qawwali, improvisation is not an exception but a tradition, giving performers the freedom to respond to the audience and the mood in the moment. Shivam says Tasawwur follows that practice closely. “Nearly 80% of our performance is improvised,” he says. “Sometimes we don’t even decide the compositions beforehand. We see the audience, we understand their energy, and then we perform accordingly.”
It is precisely this unpredictability that leaves a lasting impression. “I’ve met people who didn’t understand the language we were singing in,” he says. “They came to us afterwards and said they felt something through the melodies and wanted to know more about qawwali. That is always special.”
With Goa’s monsoon setting the stage, Shivam trusts the atmosphere will become as much a part of the performance as the music itself. “The monsoon has its own feeling. It makes everything calm and cosy, and music feels different in that kind of environment, adding another layer to the experience,”
he says.
And Shivam believes qawwali offers audiences more than an immersive musical experience. “People can dance to our music too, but I also hope they take home the meaning behind these old ‘kalams’. They hold years of philosophy, devotion, and love,” he says. “If someone leaves with even one of those thoughts staying with them, then we have achieved what we came to do.”
(‘Malhar &The Sea’, a music and arts festival will be held from July 24 to 26 at Taj Exotica Resort & Spa. Built around the theme ‘One India, Many Voies, the festival celebrates India’s rich vocal traditional through performances spanning dhrupad, khayal, thumri, bhajan, carnatic music, ghazal, music theatre and more.)
