Villa Park, Illinois – September 6, 2015: After successfully debuting their #SSlive2015 series of concerts in Dallas, Texas, the Ismaili Muslim brother-duo, Salim and Sulaiman Merchant of the Bollywood film industry in India, performed in Chicago for the first time to a packed house. The young and upcoming talented performer, Sreeram Chandra, Raj Pandit and Bhomi Trivedi of Indian Idol fame, accompanied the Bollywood duo.

The performers paid their respect to the children of the world with their latest composition Khalipan (Emptiness). They also paid tribute to the contemporary music composer Adesh Srivastave, who passed away recently after battling cancer.

With Sreeram and Raj, the virtuoso Salim sang an inspiring rendition of the duo’s popular song Ali Mawla from the movie Kurban, which touched the hearts of the audience. The troupe concluded by rocking the house with an energetic medley of songs.

The organizer of the show, Murad Sarfani of YesForLife.org (himself a cancer survivor – read his story by clicking here), thanked the large number of volunteers who helped make this historical event in Chicago a success for their charities.

Salim and Sulaiman are on a tour of North America and UK, donating proceeds from their shows to the Aga Khan Museum. In addition to performances, the duo will hold meetings and workshops for Ismaili youth as well as Meet & Greet sessions in the respective cities.

http://www.sslive2015.com/

https://www.facebook.com/salimsulaimanmusic

The Prince Alwaleed Islamic Studies Program and the South Asia Institute present

Reflections: A Conversation with Salim and Sulaiman Merchant

The Merchant brothers, Salim and Sulaiman, rank among the most dynamic and talented musicians and composers in South Asia today.

The breadth and range of their musical ability attests to their intrinsic genius: from award winning musical scores and compositions in Indian and American cinema to collaborations with some of the most talented and ground-breaking musicians of our times.

Salim and Suleiman will reflect on their musical careers and some of their widely acclaimed compositions inspired by Islam’s rich tradition of spirituality and artistic expression.

Moderator: Ali Asani, Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures; Director, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program, Harvard University

October 2, 2015
12:00 – 1:30 pm
Thompson Room, Barker Center
12 Quincy Street
Cambridge, MA

Open to the public.

Discover, explore and Learn more via The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University | Reflections: A Conversation with Salim and Sulaiman Merchant

Earlier & Related

Salim-Sulaiman Interviews (3 of 3): Bollywood Duo talk to PBS – Religion & Ethics Newsweekly on how faith inspires their music

Salim-Sulaiman Interviews (2 of 3): Brothers talk about the genesis of the North American tour, TKN and Giving

Salim-Sulaiman Interviews (1 of 3): Salim inspires 5th Grade Student discussing Mawlana Hazar Imam, FIFA World Cup Soccer & Music

Nairobi: Coastweek’s Interview with Salim Sulaiman

September 2, 2015: Musician Zoheb Veljee launches “Collab Shollab” – projects, compositions, and journeys he has shared with musicians-artists-friends.

The first upload is a German song. A Berlin-Karachi collaboration with Zoheb’s friend and singer-songwriter, Maria Jacobi, to whom this song came on a solo walk from Borith Lake to Passu (Upper Hunza, Gojal, Pakistan).

The title “Kleiner Vagabund” means Little Vagabond – a song about hope, travel, love, longing, self-belief, friendship and ultimately returning “home” wherever we may go.

soundcloud.com/mariajacobi/kleiner-vagabund-v32

soundcloud.com/zoheb-veljee/sets/collab-shollab

Also watch: Sindhi: Allah Hu Hu – Zoheb Veljee tribute to Alan Faqeer

All related Zoheb Veljee

Umang Profile: Music Producer, Zoheb Veljee

Umang Profile: Music Producer, Zoheb Veljee - Zoheb Veljee is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, policy consultant, and a youth development specialist. While pursuing his Masters degree at Carnegie Mellon University, Zoheb conceived \”Global Troubadours\” for a class assignment – a social enterprise that would identify, record, and promote musicians who represent a rich cultural heritage but live in remotely located under-served […]

Documentary ‘Danatum Passu’ in the Media

Documentary ‘Danatum Passu’ in the Media - A completely captivating film by Pakistani filmmaker Shehrbano Saiyid about a Hunza poet named Shahid Aktar, and how a particular poem of his has been received by his primary audience — his fellow villagers. The film documents its recording by Zoheb Veljee, who has spent five years recording music in remote locations around the world. […]

YogaLife Middle East has welcomed Zohra Lakhani to the role of Art Director. Formerly a Marketing Designer for ITP Publishing Group, where she worked across 25 publications simultaneously, Zohra also has over four years of experience in marketing and public relations. As Art Director, Zohra will be responsible for the art directing and visualising of YogaLife Middle East in both its print and digital forms. She will cover brand development, digital and social media marketing, and creative direction for the magazine.

“YogaLife is very near to my own aspirations in life and meditational desires,” says Zohra. “I belong to a family and community where meditation is practiced each day and is considered a source of spiritual fulfilment. My upbringing and strong connection with my roots makes me extremely excited to join the wonderful concept that is YogaLife!”

Source: The Media Network

Salim and Sulaiman concluded their North American tour in Toronto on Saturday,  September 26th, 2015.  They now head out to the UK for a final performance in London for their 2015 world tour next weekend after a talk at Harvard University on Friday, October 2nd.

Net proceeds from their shows will be donated to the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto.

In addition to performances, the duo have held meetings and workshops for Ismaili youth as well as Meet & Greet sessions in the respective tour cities. On Sunday, September 27th, the Ismaili Centre, Toronto hosted a special music workshop conducted by Salim and Sulaiman for the benefit of emerging Ismaili youth musicians in the metro Toronto area.

Salim and Sulaiman and their team of performers paid their respect to the children of the world (inspired by the Peshawar tragedy) with their latest composition Khalipan (Emptiness) – see image gallery dedicated to this and other themes.

Image Gallery courtesy of Salim Nensi Photography – Toronto

Discover, Explore and Learn more via  Salim & Sulaiman 2015 in Toronto photo collection by Salim Nensi Photography – Toronto

Earlier & Related

Full Transcript – PBS show on His Highness the Aga Khan & the Ismaili Muslims

Salim-Sulaiman Interviews (3 of 3): Bollywood Duo talk to PBS – Religion & Ethics Newsweekly on how faith inspires their music

Salim-Sulaiman Interviews (2 of 3): Brothers talk about the genesis of the North American tour, TKN and Giving

Salim-Sulaiman Interviews (1 of 3): Salim inspires 5th Grade Student discussing Mawlana Hazar Imam, FIFA World Cup Soccer & Music

Salim and Sulaiman Merchant to speak at Harvard University on October 2nd, 2015

Salim-Sulaiman’s Latest: “Khalipan” – For the Children of the World

Now showing on-line – PBS show on His Highness the Aga Khan & the Ismaili Muslims

Special PBS show on His Highness the Aga Khan & the Ismaili Muslims to air on-line today

September 27 at 6:26pm: Salim Nensi at Ismaili Centre Toronto

Chicago based photographers Adil & Sabrina Lakhani of www.adilandsabrinaphotography.com are raffling off prizes to raise funds for the Aga Khan Foundation USA.

Each $20 ticket will earn you a chance to win a photo shoot. You may also increase your chances by getting 3 tickets when you donate for 2.

The photographer duo team of Adil and Sabrina will be in Dallas during Thanksgiving weekend and in New York city during the weekend of October 30th.

Visit bitly.com/globaldonor to donate and participate. Click on the orange “Donate to this Fundraiser” button at the source.

The Merchant brothers, Salim and Sulaiman, rank among the most dynamic and talented musicians and composers in South Asia today. The breadth and range of their musical ability attests to their intrinsic genius: from award winning musical scores and compositions in Indian and American cinema to collaborations with some of the most talented and ground-breaking musicians of our times. Salim and Suleiman will reflect on their musical careers and some of their widely acclaimed compositions inspired by Islam’s rich tradition of spirituality and artistic expression.

Discover, explore and Learn more via

• The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University | Reflections: A Conversation with Salim and Sulaiman Merchant
• The Harvard University South Asia Institute | Reflections: A Conversation with Salim and Sulaiman Merchant

About the Prince Alwaleed Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University

The Alwaleed Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University is dedicated to furthering the scholarly study of Islam and the Muslim world in a broadly interdisciplinary context and offers incomparable resources in its world-class faculty, extensive and multiple libraries, on-line resources, museums, area studies centers and research initiatives.

Central to its academic and scholarly objectives, the Alwaleed Program seeks to bridge gaps in understanding between the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds and ensure that Harvard’s capacity in Islamic Studies fully represents the depth of Islam’s rich historical and geographically diverse cultures.

The Alwaleed Program at Harvard was established with a generous donation from Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia

Alwaleed Islamic Studies Program Upcoming Events

About the South Asia Institute

The Harvard University South Asia Institute (SAI) engages faculty and students through interdisciplinary programs to advance and deepen the teaching and research on global issues relevant to South Asia.

Founded in 2003 to further Harvard University’s engagement with South Asia, SAI is a university-wide research institute at Harvard that engages faculty members, students, and in region institutions through interdisciplinary programs to disseminate knowledge, build capacity, inform policy, and engage in advocacy on issues that are shaping South Asia today.

This Friday, join us for a conversation with @salim_merchant and @Sulaiman bit.ly/1LAxjTq @HarvardIslamic http://t.co/4uJA6bL9bn

—
South Asia Institute (@HarvardSAI) September 28, 2015

Samira R. Noorali, Zoheb Veljee and Saqib Asadullah present Elhahm, a devotional and mystical piece. The French/Farsi song wails, “Oh Ali, Ali ye mann.”

Photography By: Jesús G. Pastor

Samira (California), Zoheb (Karachi) and Saqib (Virginia) have been collaborating on diverse musical projects for several years and hope to inspire audiences with this emotional masterpiece.

Elhahm
(English Translation)

I was a lost soul
haunted by the spirit of a child.
I didn’t know anything of you…

Oh Ali, my Ali

I was a lost child.
I was afraid you wouldn’t come.
I searched for Your grace, and I knew…

Oh Ali, my Ali

*********

Ismailimail in collaboration with Samira R. Noorali, and Ismaili Gnosis will be live-tweeting Salim & Sulaiman Merchant’s Harvard University lecture with Professor Ali Asani. Follow below mentioned links.

https://twitter.com/SamiraNoorali
https://twitter.com/hashtag/SSHarvardIM

https://www.facebook.com/SamiraRNoorali
https://www.facebook.com/ismailimail

https://twitter.com/IsmailiGnosis

Subscribe Harvard University South Asia Institute’s YouTube Channel as they will be posting the recorded video soon.

Music by the world’s most important and influential composers combines with brilliant Canadian compositions in Esprit Orchestra’s 2015-2016 Subscription Concert Series conducted by Alex Pauk. World Premieres of new Canadian compositions feature prominently along with exceptional guest artists including The Elmer Iseler Singers, hot young cellist Bryan Cheng and Esprit’s principal trumpet player, Robert Venables. All concerts, starting at 8:00 pm at Koerner Hall, are preceded by informative pre-concert talks. Concert dates are: October 4, November 15, January 24 and March 31.

The series opens on October 4th with a concert titled Con Brio, named after the work of German composer Jörg Widmann, whose piece sets the pace for the program.
….
The Elmer Iseler Singers are Esprit’s guest performers for the World Premiere of Alex Pauk’s Soul and Psyche for choir and orchestra, a work drawing from a rich reservoir of myths, rituals and sacred systems to express powerful humanistic and spiritual themes. The Iseler Singers, conducted by their Music Director Lydia Adams, will perform devotional miniatures from Hussein Janmohamed’s Nur: Reflections on Light for choir alone, originally composed for the opening of the Aga Khan Museum.

Source: Musical Toronto

By Samira R. Noorali J.D. special to Ismailimail
Photo images courtesy of Anvar Nanji & Nims Merali

Brothers Salim and Sulaiman Merchant, popularly known as Salim-Sulaiman, are a composer duo best known for their musical work in popular Indian cinema. Although in the midst of a hectic concert tour, the two gentlemen swept into Barker Center on Friday with Harvard’s own Dr. Ali Asani by their side to discuss and analyze their work in front of an eager audience.

Among the audience were three youths – Alyna Nanji and brothers Qayl and Riyaan Maherali – who had received permission from their respective schools to attend the event and report on their experience.

The event was co-hosted by The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program and  South Asia Institute, both Harvard University organizations.

Harvard University is arguably one of the finest and most prestigious institutions in the world, and Dr. Asani is an apt representative of its values and commitment to providing the best education.  As moderator, Dr. Asani gracefully guided the discussion through a variety of essential topics: Salim and Sulaiman’s personal lives and influences, the impact of devotional music on young listeners, analysis of the symbols and subtexts running through their work, and the function of music in transcendent experience.

Music has the capacity to “grant insights into the nature of existence,” Dr. Asani said early on, positioning himself for a conversation that would quickly take on spiritual overtones.

The talk involved an examination of Salim-Sulaiman’s music videos and song lyrics in Allahu Akbar and Khalipan, as well as other compositions.  While discussing the tree of life, whirling dervishes, strong element of light, and other prominent symbols in “Allahu Akbar,” Sulaiman commented, “Songs with a devotional quality become timeless.”

Although the panelists and moderator constantly effused an air of hope, unity and celebration, the talk was not without its heavy moments. During the discussion on “Khalipan” –  a song the duo wrote in the wake of the Peshawar attacks –  Salim and Sulaiman found themselves identifying with the parents of the children who passed.   In spite of an intense uprising of anger and inconsolable frustration in their hearts after the tragic event, Salim and Sulaiman expressed gratitude:

“We are lucky that we can emote through music,” Salim stated. Sulaiman added that “we don’t make music about religion or spirituality, we make music about what touches us.” Salim and Sulaiman clarified that they rarely if ever write music with an agenda, even a positive agenda.  They create only what they are truly inspired to create.

A question and answer session followed where the composers touched on their favorite musical genres as well as what they hope to emote in their upcoming works.

“Celebration is strong emotion,” Salim stated before he went onto contrast their recent “intense” work with their lighter Bollywood releases.  Both expressed that while they are committed to their meaningful and exploratory work, such work can and should be balanced by celebration.

After being whisked away to catch a flight to the UK (the destination of their next concert), Salim-Sulaiman conveyed this message on Facebook, “Today, we felt very privileged and humbled to speak at the Harvard University in Boston. The talk was about the significance of music to bring about a cultural unity between societies. The significance of devotional music and its impact on the new generation to be more in tune with their tradition and culture. We are extremely thankful to Harvard University for inviting us to share our experience and knowledge.”

Sheniz Janmohamed and Special Guests bring their poetic talents and unstoppable energy to the Museum — and invite local talent to share the stage.

The Aga Khan Museum is hosting one of its Spoken Word Series events on Thursday, Oct. 8.

The event features series regular Sheniz Janmohamed along with special guest Robert Priest.

Priest is the author of 14 poetry books, three plays, two novels, seven music CDs, columns and appears on CBC Radio’s hit spoken word show Wordbeat using the alias Dr. Poetry.

Sheniz Janmohamed is an author, artist educator and spoken word artist. A graduate of the MFA in Creative Writing program at the University of Guelph, Sheniz has been mentored by authors Dionne Brand, Kuldip Gill and Janice Kulyk Keefer. Sheniz is also the founder of Ignite Poets, a spoken word initiative with an emphasis on collaboration, innovation and social awareness.

via www.insidetoronto.com – www.agakhanmuseum.org/performing-arts – canpoetry.library.utoronto.ca/priest – shenizjanmohamed.com/biography

Lead Vocals: Taufiq Karmali

Chrorus: Shabnam Khan, Sharmin Bandali Alibhai, Shinatta Patel, Ali Hemani, Saima Asaria, Hanif Bandali.

Music Produced by: Shri Deepak Khazanchi, Sai Studios London UK – Recorded in UK and India

Source: www.youtube.com/watch

Posted: October 10, 2015 by moifightclub in Making, music, songs & videos

I started stopping everyone I know (and didn’t know) to make them listen to Coke Studio Pakistan about six years ago. One of the many things that stands out is the excellent house-band that the studio has.

This post is just a small thank you from someone who admires Coke Studio Pakistan’s magicians. I hardly see ‘filmwalas or musicians’ discuss about Coke Studio Pakistan but that can never negate the fact that Coke Studio Pakistan is undoubtedly the biggest music brand to come out of the subcontinent in as far as I can remember. Melody, continuously. So let us quickly say thank you to those who stood out this season.

Aahad Nayani

I remember getting all angry with his excessive antics in Season 7. Of course we weren’t used to seeing excessive display of any emotion by drummers in the Studio (Give me Gumby any day!). That aside, Aahad really acted like a metronome to almost all the songs where he was present. His perfect outing in Sakal bann, Khari neem, rockstar just added so much to these songs, not to mention that delightful acknowledgement and pointer towards Nabeel at the end of ‘Bewajah.‘

Discover, Explore and Learn more via Magicians of Coke Studio (Pakistan)

Earlier: String Band’s New Drummer Aahad Nayani – Live Drumming Solo

Aahad Nayani: Drummer/Percussionist with South Asian pop band Strings

Drummer Alishan Lakhani, whom Ismailimail has featured previously, collaborated and performed with Canadian based musicians/band JoSh in Karachi, at an event organized by Pepsi Unplugged show.

Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/alishandrums
Profile: https://www.facebook.com/alishan.lakhani

First Past The Post
Carolyn Asome is deputy fashion editor of The Times for Vogue
22 October 2015

In the November issue of Vogue, Carolyn Asome meets Imran Amed, founder of The Business of Fashion.

The white, bright space on the top floor of a building just north of Oxford Circus resembles the sort of office you might imagine in a creative-visualisation technique: spacious rooms filled with stylish, purposeful-looking men and women sitting around pristine work surfaces. I hazard a guess that a “no eating at your desk” policy is observed but I don’t get round to asking because Imran Amed is in full flight. The slightly built Canadian-born founder and editor-in-chief of The Business of Fashion (BoF), dressed in a Tomorrowland shirt and Robert Geller trousers, is taking me on a tour of the six-week-old surrounds of his fledgling empire.

Actually, it’s as much to survey the Dinesen-style floorboards as it is to introduce me to the 17 nationalities that make up his 25-strong team. “This,” says Amed, “is important, because this cultural hotchpotch reflects exactly the sort of approach that BoF takes: global, academic, an outsider’s perspective.”

But what is BoF? Company CEOs, designers, style journalists, investors and anyone with an interest in the fashion world will tell you that it is essential 6am reading. Viewers awake each morning to a daily digest (access to all content is free) of stories aggregated from publications around the world as well as its own articles. “It’s the first thing I read every day in bed before I even see my children, I’m ashamed to admit,” says Anya Hindmarch, while Tory Burch reads it before she gets to the papers.

“In a crowded media landscape, what other media brand gets to spend five minutes with their consumers every morning?” asks Amed proudly. Surely it explains the 500,000 unique visitors each month and a site that is increasingly scooping traditional fashion press. The recent star hires of fashion critic Tim Blanks and Andrew Barker, the Evening Standard’s former magazine editor, have also raised eyebrows at BoF’s intentions.

“I think people come to us for our opinion and evaluation: it’s news reporting but placing fashion in a wider context, such as the Grexit,” offers Amed. “We take in a broader geopolitical, technological context.” Others believe that he has cleverly exploited a huge gap in the market. Whereas WWD is the dominant name in fashion news but focuses on the American market, BoF takes a global perspective.

Last year Amed travelled to 25 countries and spent 150 days away from his Notting Hill home. Admittedly he says much of his enjoyment comes from all the travelling he does; it’s his way of unwinding – “I love nothing better than immersing myself in different street cultures; exploring all those neighbourhoods in Tokyo was quite amazing or visiting Morocco to see an Inditex factory” – but he recognises the importance of looking after himself. He tries to be in bed by 10pm, meditates when he wakes at 6am and makes time to exercise (yoga or the gym four times a week).

And it’s funny because meditation is very much a part of my culture: my grandfather used to get up and do it every day at 4am. It’s something I grew up with but had never really managed to do because my head was filled with so much noise. A whole series of events pushed me towards meditation and now it’s become such an integral part of the way I manage myself. It’s a tool for me; when you’re an entrepreneur and you’re pulled in every direction, it is wonderful to have this discipline.”

At first, his parents, an architect father and teacher mother, east Africans of Indian descent, were confused by his decision to leave McKinsey. “I wasn’t obsessed by fashion growing up in Calgary, I wasn’t reading magazines when I was six years old.” He’d observed from his father that architecture was a career that required left brain/right brain thinking. “You have to understand aesthetics and design but you also need to understand structure and organisation.” It’s a philosophy that is the core of everything BoF does.

Discover, Explore and Learn more by reading the complete story at British Vogue | Imran Amed Buisness of Fashion Interview

Earlier: Imran Amed receives Desautels Management Achievement Awards – McGill University

By Aaron Chatha for Metro – Sun Oct 25 2015O: On Salima Stanley-Bhanji’s last day in Jordan, after spending weeks talking with Syrian refugees about their experiences, one of her translators opened up about his own life experience as a Syrian refugee.

Rather than conduct the interview herself, Bhanji asked one of her other translators, also from Syria, to ask the questions.

“The dialogue we saw between these two Syrian refugees, who didn’t know each other prior to this, was just so remarkable,” she said. “Afterwards, we asked the interviewer how it felt for him to ask questions and to receive those answers from a position similar to him.“

He said, ‘You know, when I hear these stories, my skin begins to crawl and I feel like I’m going to lose control.’ And at that point he began to tear up.

Read at the Source: Artist wants Calgarians to walk a mile in refugees’ shoes | Metro News

Scarborough Mirror – By Ali Raza: Scarborough-raised spoken word artist, Sheniz Janmohamed, uses her poetry to rage against injustice and also bring together unique artists in collaborative performances.

In a series of performances underway at the Aga Khan Museum as part of the 2015 Performing Arts Series, Janmohamed is a feature performer along with several other poets, musicians and artists.

More at the Source: Scarborough-raised spoken word artist Sheniz Janmohamed focuses her work on identity

NOV 04, 2015: Even though Coke Studio signed off last month, many would still remember drummer Aahad Nayani whose curls were an object of fascination as he hammered away at his instrument. Aahad, who has garnered much acclaim ever since he was spotted by Strings, now joins the big guns at events like panel discussions on the future of music in Pakistan.

Performing internationally in cities like San Francisco, Boston, New York, Houston, Dallas, Canada and India, Aahad makes sure his audience is left bewildered when he comes to the solo.

To know just a bit about Aahad, we asked him five questions and here is what he had to say:

More at the Source: 5 questions with Aahad Niyani – Dawn Images

Earlier:

• Aahad Nayani – Magicians of Coke Studio (Pakistan)
• String Band’s New Drummer Aahad Nayani – Live Drumming Solo
• Aahad Nayani: Drummer/Percussionist with South Asian pop band Strings