Sufi Rock Rocks the Wang Center

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Chatterjee (left) and Ahmad (right)/ Photo by Rohma Abbas

By Rohma Abbas

The Charles B. Wang Center kicked off its fifth open season with Salman Ahmad, a member of an internationally known Sufi Rock mainstay, Junoon, with tabla player Pandit Samir Chatterjee, Sept 26 at 7 p.m.
 
“Ladies and gentleman,” said Director of Asian and Asian American Programs at the Wang Center Sunita Mukhi, to a sold-out crowd of over 230 people, “you’re in for a rocking time.”
 
After being introduced by Mukhi, Ahmad and Chatterjee began their performance just after 7:30 p.m.  It was followed  by a question-and-answer and autograph session. 
 
The band members performed many hits - one  being, “Sayonee.” As singer and guitarist Ahmad played, his eyes were shut;  in the middle of the song he opened them and addressed the audience:
 
“Sayonee,” he said, pausing, “means soul mate.” He resumed playing the song with eyes closed.
 
Most songs were performed in Urdu or Punjabi, both native languages of Pakistan. Audience members sang along with Ahmad and Chatterjee throughout the performance.
 
Ahmad, a medical doctor, musician, and a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for HIV/AIDS, is an eclectic figure.
 
“I think I function best swimming in different streams—each one of those roles rubs off on one another,” Ahmad said backstage during the intermission.
 
The band has received critical acclaim from many different sources. Chatterjee, the tabla player, has played with various artists, including Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead.
 
Ahmad described Sufi rock as a type of mystic rock that is simultaneously celebratory and healing . Chatterjee did not speak much, but smiled broadly at the audience while playing his tabla, an Indian percussion instrument.
 
“You hear that beat? Like that?” Ahmad said,  the audience obliged and  clapped along with the soulful rhythms of the music.
 
 To bridge the language barrier, Ahmad and Sameer performed a track not in Urdu or Punjabi, but rather in English.
 
“Here’s a Sufi song from quite a different source,” Ahmad said, and played a cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” The audience willingly sang along.