Asif Abbas Rayama

This Foundation project implemented by IFA seeks to rediscover the lost songs of Sindhi Sufi saint Shah Latif Bhitai in order to fill the gaps in the reception, recognition, and performance of his poetry. Through a rigorous process of sharing, teaching, and learning, the project aims to bring together scholars and musicians in order to study this Sufi tradition of singing and its role in community life across Kutch. Rayama Asif Abbas will be the Coordinator for this project.

Asif Abbas Rayama has worked in the diverse fields of rural development, primary education, women empowerment, and cultural engagement across villages and communities in Gujarat. As a project consultant, he managed the activities of the Shabad Shala program in the schools of Kutch, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and New Delhi. The program was incubated by the Kabir Project in 2022 and sought to provide an opportunity for young children to immerse in the poetic verses and musical compositions of saint-poets such as Kabir, Meerabai, Gorakhnath, Ravidas, and Sufis like Bulleh Shah and Ghulam Fareed. As a project manager of the Mahila Vikas Sangathan in Bhuj, Asif has also coordinated performances for musicians, especially Soorvani - a collective of folk music artists of Kutch. Given his experience, he is best suited to be the Project Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA. Contemporary singer and performer of Shah’s songs, Abdul Jat (Ataullah), will join him as a collaborator from the region.

Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (1689 – 1752) was a noted Sindhi Sufi scholar, mystic, saint, and poet, widely considered to be one of the greatest Muslim poets of the Sindhi language. His collected poems were assembled in the compilation Shah Jo Risalo, which has been translated into English, Urdu, and other languages. His work has been compared frequently to that of the Persian poet Rumi. Shah’s surs were composed as love stories from various phases of Shah’s travels. Through metaphors and allegories within the love stories, the surs paint a picture of the everyday community life, belief system, and spiritual practices. 

This research project titled, The Unsung Surs of Shah Latif Bhitai: Finding a Passage between Hind and Sindh, aims to embody the complexities of the interconnections between the spiritual and cultural life in Kutch through a musical journey, with the hope that the unsung surs of Shah Latif can be discovered, learned and performed. The research methodology will include review of existing literature on Shah’s poetry in Sindhi and Gujarati, archival study, interviews and discussions with scholars, civil society groups, activists, musicians, and listeners of Shah Jo Risalo. It will explore the personal history and context, poetry and musical practice of Latif, and the relevance of the performance of Shah Latif’s surs across Kutch and Sindh.

The outcomes of this project will be a workshop between older and younger musicians to learn about Shah Latif’s missing surs, a booklet on the artists who perform Sha Latif, audiovisual documentation from the field, and a series of community shows, mehfils, and baithaks. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be the booklet and audiovisual documentation of the workshop, baithaks, performances, and artists’ profiles.

This project suitably addresses the framework of IFA’s Arts Research programme in how it amalgamates aspects of research, pedagogy, and community engagement to revisit the forgotten surs of a Sufi poet, whose words have transcended borders and man-made territories.

IFA will ensure that the project is implemented on time and that the funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm and document it through an Implementation Memorandum. After the project is complete and deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with the Trustees.

This project is made possible with support from BNP Paribas India.