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The Orchestral Qawwali Project, blending qawwali with orchestral and classical traditions, is set to debut in India this December. Led by Abi Sampa and Rushil Ranjan, the collective will perform in Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, introducing audiences to a unique fusion of devotional music and immersive live performances under the Ruhbaru cultural platform.
In the 13th century, qawwali emerged in the Sufi dargahs and shrines of South Asia as a form of Islamic devotional music. Over the following centuries, the tradition developed through the hereditary transmission of knowledge, devotional poetry, and esoteric performance practices, serving as a means of spiritual reflection or transformation. ‘Qawwals’ — musicians specialising in qawwali, often belonging to the Chishti order — passed down repertoires and techniques across generations, from father to son, master to disciple. Its call-and-response structures, repetitive refrains, and improvisational vocals create an experience that moves between contemplation and ecstatic intensity, long before Jazz music would make such improvisation popular in western music.
In more recent times, musicians such as Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, widely known as ‘Shahanshah-e-Qawwali’ (The King of Qawwali), and the Sabri Brothers have made qawwali a truly global musical tradition. Today, The Orchestral Qawwali Project (OQP), a collaboration between composer Rushil Ranjan and vocalist Abi Sampa, is taking the tradition forward. Their orchestral arrangements offer a contemporary interpretation of qawwali, building on its musical potential while retaining its devotional roots. The project explores the meeting point of qawwali, western classical, South Asian and Indian classical musical traditions, alongside classical dance and immersive live performance.
Sampa and Ranjan met in 2016, when he was looking for a vocalist for a performance at Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre. Their shared interest in devotional music eventually led to the founding of the Orchestral Qawwali Project in 2020. The project’s first breakthrough came with an orchestral interpretation of ‘Man Kunto Maula’, a devotional composition traditionally attributed to Amir Khusrau, one of the early proponents of qawwali. Released during the first COVID-19 lockdown, the recording reached millions of viewers online, introducing the duo’s distinctive approach to audiences around the world.
Since then, Sampa, Ranjan, and the Orchestral Qawwali Project have performed at the Royal Albert Hall, Roundhouse, Barbican and Symphony Hall Birmingham. In 2024, Ranjan and Sampa were named Associate Artists of the Royal Albert Hall following their performance. This December, the Orchestral Qawwali Project is coming to India for the first time, with a four-city tour across Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai as the inaugural chapter of ‘Ruhbaru’ — an anthology-style cultural platform where each chapter introduces a different artist, sound, or cultural tradition to Indian audiences. A new IP brought together by Cultural (Mis)fits, Ruhbaru seeks to create a space for distinctive sounds and artists to transcend conventional genre and geographical boundaries.
The Orchestral Qawwali Project will perform at Yashobhoomi, Delhi, on 5 December; Terraform Arena, Bengaluru, on 6 December; Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad, on 12 December; and JW Marriott Sahar, Mumbai, on 13 December 2026. Tickets are available on District.
