Book

Description

From the courtyards of the dargah to the neon glow of the dance floor, Sufi imagery has travelled one of the most striking journeys in modern Indian culture. This book traces how qawwali and the language of divine love (ishq) moved from sacred ritual into the heart of popular Hindi cinema—and what that transformation reveals about secularization, globalization, and the commodification of spirituality. Beginning with the syncretic foundations laid by Amir Khusrau and the Chishti tradition, the authors follow Sufi motifs through the Golden Age films of the 1950s and 1960s (Barsaat Ki Raat, Mughal-e-Azam), where qawwali offered emotional catharsis and post-Partition visions of harmony. They then chart the decisive turn toward hybridity in the disco and pop era, examining transitional numbers such as “Parda Hai Parda” and the landmark fusion of “Chaiyya Chaiyya.” Contemporary case studies—Kun Faya Kun, “Bhar Do Jholi Meri,” and electronic remixes—show how rock, electronic production, and the global legacies of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and A.R. Rahman have further reshaped these sacred forms. Drawing on Barthesian semiotics, Bhabha’s hybridity, Hall’s encoding/decoding model, and the critique of the culture industry, the study reveals both the resilience of Sufi syncretism and the risks of turning mystical ecstasy into marketable spectacle. Sacred Sounds, Secular Stages offers a clear chronological and theoretical map of this “dargah to disco” continuum—an essential contribution for readers interested in Bollywood, music, postcolonial culture, and the enduring power of sacred sound in a secular age.