"Raaz-e-Ulfat" (The Secret of Love) – Ghazals and Nazms of Faiz
by Dr. Pooja Goswami Pavan & troupe

For Immediate Release

An ode to love and humanism in the Twin Cities on Sunday, March 15, 5:00 pm

A rare treat is in store for music-lovers. Hindustani (North Indian classical) vocalist and composer, Dr. Pooja Goswami Pavan, will perform Ghazals and Nazms (art songs of love) on Sunday, March 15 in Plymouth. Pooja's five-member ensemble will present both, traditional and new, musical interpretations of the poetry of the celebrated Urdu poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984), drawing upon the tonal contours of Indian classical and semi-classical music. The ensemble includes highly accomplished artists from India and the USA, performing on the Sarangi, Harmonium and Tabla, alongside Pooja. Professor Bilal Hashmi (University of Toronto), noted scholar of Urdu literature, will provide live interpretation of Faiz's poetry in this concert.

Faiz's verses provide a verbally-delectable insight into, not only the myriad hues of love and beauty, but also, of humanism, freedom and resistance against oppression. The Ghazal's rhyme, rhythm and meter, when overlaid on the rich soundscapes of Indian classical music, make for a bewitching experience. In her brilliant Ghazal album "How Shall I Say", Pooja offered us a glimpse of this magic. More of the same can be expected at this live concert, following on the success of a similarly formatted concert celebrating the iconic poet Mirza Ghalib in July 2019.

She has a soaring voice that mingles our suffering with joy. Her phrasing is always exact as she rides the devotional river. Robert Bly, Minnesota's Poet Laureate

At Pooja's concert (to a packed and enthusiastically animated house), great sonic victories greeted the thankful ears of the open-hearted. Dean Magraw, Guitar Maestro

Encountering her voice for the first time is startling. It's a soaring sound, slipping between notes with ease, bending with exquisite control ... Euan Kerr, Arts Reporter for MPR News