Dhruv Sangari

Dhruv Sangari otherwise called Bilal Chishty Sangari بلال ڇݜتى سنگارى is a Sufi and Classical Indian entertainer, writer, lyricist, intellectual and educator. He is the child of notable researcher and creator Kumkum Sangari and noted painter Mahendra ‘Manu’ Sangari.

Early life and training

Brought into the world in 1981, Dhruv started his preparation in Hindustani traditional music at seven years old with Shahana Bannerjee and went on under Ustad Iqbal Ahmad Khan. He likewise prepared in the tabla from Pandit B.S. Ramanna. Afterward, he fostered an interest in Sufism and Sufi music and began gaining qawwali from Ustad Meraj Ahmed Nizami of the Qawwal-BachheGharana at the dargah of the Sufi holy person Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi. His excursion in music drove him to find the virtuoso of Pakistani Qawwali maestro Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, whom he in the long run met and gained from during the 1990s. Having finished his examinations in Hindustani old style music from the University of Delhi under such melodic stalwarts as Dr. Krishna Bisht, Dr. Najma Parveen Ahmadand Ustad Ghulam Sadiq Khan, Dhruv proceeded to turn into a full-time show and recording artiste and has been performing with different groups starting around 2000. During this period he secured a 25 episode series in light of Indian old style Ragas ‘Tarang ki Mehfil’ broadcast on ETV Urdu.

10 years prior an opportunity meeting with Syed Salman Chishty and Syed Dr. Peer Najmul Hassan Chishty drove him down the otherworldly way and he took hand with the last option in the city of Ajmer, in this manner being officially drafted into the Chishti Sufi Order. During his movements across the world as a performer he likewise turned out to be near Sheik Ibrahim Farajaje and Sheik Muhammad canister Yahya al-Ninowy. A devotee of Sufi Islam, Dhruv stays a functioning voice on issues of Sufism and Sufi Culture and consistently performs contributions at different Sufi hallowed places across the Indian Subcontinent. His life partner is Anam Hassan, whom he wedded in 2016.

Biography, career profile and discography

Prevalently known as ‘Sovereign of Qawwali’ Dhruv has sung and made the spiritualist sections out of artists and holy people like Baba Farid, Amir Khusrau, Mirabai, Rumi, Jami, Bulleh Shah, Kabir, Saim Chishty, Allama Iqbal, Bedil and Shah Niyaz among others. His initial trial works were with Swiss electronic artists Lionel Dentan and David Scruffari with the band Da-Saz. Their presentation collection ‘Stream Lag was delivered by Phat-Phish Records in 2008. In 2008 Dhruv prearranged and secured one more series in view of Indian Classical Music named ‘Raagon ki Haseen Duniya’ that broadcasted on DD Urdu. In 2011 he proceeded to team up on the collection ‘Trust’ with specialists Timothy Hill and Eric Thomas for the Nasreen and Alam Sher Foundation, US. In 2012 he sang Saim Chishty’s popular sonnet ‘Haq Ali Maula'(originally sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) with his band Humble spiritualist for [Coke Studio MTV at Reliance Studios, Mumbai.

Aside from singing the 2013 chartbuster ‘Lutt Jawaan’ for Music Director Mannan Shah in the film Commando: A One Man Army featuring Vidyut Jamwal, and the hit Coke Studio (India) MTV track ‘Kyun Na’ with writer Amit Trivedi; Dhruv wrote the verses for tune ‘Abr e Karam’ sung by Shilpa Rao for the film Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain delivered in 2014 featuring Martin Sheen, Mischa Barton and Kal Penn. Dhruv was likewise highlighted in Fox Life’s series Sound Trek (season 2) in the episode ‘Dumdam Must Qalandar’ in 2014. In 2017 he gave voice for the score of Andy Serkis’ film Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle with London-based writer Nitin Sawhney. As of now Dhruv is working on a progression of single tracks and on resuscitating old and less heard South Asian Sufi songs.

Principally impacted by Sufi and old style maestros including Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, Sabri Brothers, Ustad Rashid Khan, Madan Gopal Singh and Shubha Mudgal; Dhruv-Bilal, notwithstanding his music, has additionally worked together, educated, performed and gave papers at meetings a few artistes, researchers, worldwide establishments and colleges. He worked with Theater chief Habib Tanvir on the proscenium Hypatia, with Joachim Schloemer’s PVC Tanz at Auroville, India, Stadttheater and House of World Cultures, Germany for the widely praised play The Abduction of Sita, in light of craftsman Nina Paley’s ‘Sita sings the Blues ; at the Smithsonian Institution, DC; as Artist in Residence at Colby College, Maine; and in different occasions at Stanford University, Johns Hopkins, SAIS, DC; Berkeley, SFO; New York University, NY, US Library of Congress and the University of Virginia, US, National College of Art, Lahore and the National Center for Performing Arts, Mumbai.

As lead performer for various groups like Da-Saz, Rooh Sufi Ensemble, Humble Mystic and so on, Dhruv has performed at Indian and worldwide celebrations like Bhakti Utsav, Gurgaon Utsav, ICCR International Sufi Festival, International Sufi Festival of Kolkata, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad Jayanti, Hriday Drishyam, Samagam, Prem Rawat, Sahaj Yoga, Navras, Siddhartha Festival, Vana Foundation, The Sufi Route (featured by A.R. Rahman, Gaana BMP, Krishnakriti, Phool Walon Ki Sair, Serendipity Arts Festival, Parramasala Festival, Parramatta (with David Hykes), Serpentine Gallery, London, Chhandayan, NYC and Sufism at the Smithsonian, Washington DC. Empaneled with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations ICCR and the Festivals of India Abroad, Ministry of Culture (India), Dhruv (alongside producer Yousuf Saeed) is an establishing individual from UNESCO refered to association Ektara India which has pursued filing and dispersing materials on Sufi-Bhakti culture based subjects. The association has additionally routinely directed studios and legacy trails featuring the commitment of the Sufi holy people. Dhruv has led and co-worked with profound submersions across India, Pakistan, Turkey and the US and been an encounter designer for Times Passion Trails (with Sadia Dehlvi) and Hindustan Times PACE among others. For his work in the field of Sufi-Bhakti music Dhruv has gotten grants and acknowledgment from organizations like Rotary Club, Amir Khusro Foundation, Smithsonian Institution and University of Baroda.

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