"A thoroughly professional show and one of the highlights of this Diamond Jubilee year," said a member of the audience.
Diamond Jubilee celebrations are continuing to entertain and engage the global Jamat, with the Greater Los Angeles community getting a memorable dose of dance and reflection through a concert by the Sufistics, a Sufi pop-rock band that focuses on Ismaili Muslim geets, ginans, qasidas and Sufi kalaams. They rocked younger audiences with their upbeat, devotional songs, but also incorporated devotional poems to help the Jamat appreciate a spiritual experience. Said a parent of second and fourth graders: "I can't believe my children sat through the whole show without getting restless. Not only that, they were humming the ginans and geets later on."
The show provided something for all members of the audience. "An excellently formatted show... The theme and the entertaining mix of songs gave my wife and I, a very warm and enduring feeling throughout the show,” remarked Iqbal Rajabali. And a Jamati young professional enthused, “We had come in expecting a low-key, hour-long event. But once the concert started, we were dancing, clapping, participating and having fun! At the end of the show, we couldn’t believe it had already been three hours!”
Parents of young children and seniors also enjoyed the merger of spirituality and celebration. “I have been to Salim-Sulaiman concerts, and this one reminded me of those. The spiritual aspect was especially memorable. And it was even more exciting, because after the show, the artists came down to the audience to play raas with us,” said one of the seniors attending the event.
Organized by ITREB USA, the Expressions of Love concerts have mesmerized audiences in San Antonio, Miami, Orlando, Chicago, and New York City, with many more planned across the country. The series is designed to help the Jamat express its gratitude, love and devotion to the Imam during this monumental Jubilee year. Through dance, songs, devotional literature and poetry, the shows not only aim to highlight the central pillar of the Ismaili faith, but also try to incorporate devotional literature from across all Muslim traditions through naats, nasheeds, qasidas, ginans, garbis and ventis.
