/ Background

Shamsuddin Faridi Desai – “The Qadri Sufis regard music as a pathway to God”

“My family’s style of the Been follows the Gauhar Bani, founded by Gopal Nayak. In our style, we are permitted only five forms of melodic execution – Soonth, Meend, Gamak, Lehek, and Dehek. Two forms – Zamzama and Murki – are explicitly prohibited. Our specialty is the richness of our jhala. We are taught 26 different strokes of the mizrab, and 18 different chikari perforation patterns.

An important part of our music is the link between our spiritual beliefs and pursuit of music. We belong to the Qadri sect of Sufism, which regards music as a path to the realization of God. The fountainhead of our gharana, Ustad Bande Ali Khan is reported to offered penance at the shrine of the Sufi saint. Khwaja Garibnawaz at Ajmer, and obtained a boon that he and his heirs would have the power to make people laugh or cry at will. It is that boon that inspires our music.”

– Excerpts from interview with Lyle Wachovsky, April 2004

/ Teaching

Learn Original and Authentic Rudra Veena

Miya Rahman Desai, son of legendary binkar, Ustad Shamshuddin Faridi Desai, is accepting students of all levels… from beginner to Master Class level; in-person or online. You can reach Rahman by clicking on the green phone button in the bottom right corner of the screen, or by clicking on Contact in the menu at the top of this page.