'Music is A Bridge, A Balm, A Reminder Of Unity': Award-Winning Singer-Composer Sonam Kalra To Perform ‘Ibaadat’ At Mumbai’s Royal Opera House

Sonam Kalra is a multiple award-winning singer-composer, Coke Studio artiste, a rare breed of musician who has been trained in both Indian and Western traditions of music and is equally adept at both. Her soothing and angelic voice brings an interdenominational, intergenerational and a new musical expression to this vast landscape of music. As a youngster Kalra attended art school and worked in advertising as a writer and designer but eventually found her calling to music.

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The Delhi born Sikh raised Kalra humble beginnings began when she was invited to sing gospel music at the dargah of the Sufi saint Hazrat Inayat Khan in Nizamuddin in Delhi in 2011. The performance inspired her to blend her love for gospel music songs like Amazing Grace and Hallelujah with Sufi poetry and Indian classical sounds. She then founded The Sufi Gospel Project, where she seamlessly blends diverse faiths through music which has earned her global acclaim.

Ahead of her performance this evening at the Royal Opera House, Mumbai, where she presents ‘Ibaadat – Songs of the Sacred: An Evening of Soulful Sufi Music’, Kalra reflects on the journey of The Sufi Gospel Project, new song Chaleya Momin: The Search, and other musical projects.

Exerpts from an interview

You are presenting ‘Ibaadat – Songs of the Sacred: An Evening of Soulful Sufi Music’ at Mumbai’s Royal Opera House. What does this concert represent for you at this stage of your musical journey?

Performing Ibaadat at the Royal Opera House feels deeply meaningful as I have performed here before and the space itself is so rich with history. At this stage of my journey, Ibaadat represents a sort of coming home-to faith, to poetry, to the intention with which I began making music. Over the years, my work has evolved, but the core has remained the same: to build bridges between traditions and remind us of our shared spiritual inheritance. Ibaadat is not just a concert; it is an offering, a space for collective reflection, longing, and celebration of the Divine in all its names and forms.

What can audiences expect from your show this evening?

I hope to take the audience in a shared spiritual journey of devotion and immersion, an evening of Ibaadat, quite literally. We will delve into the poetry of Sufi mystics like Baba Bulleh Shah, Amir Khusrau and Rumi, alongside voices such as Hazrat Zaheen Shah Tajji and Ghalib. There will be moments of silence, quiet introspection and moments of soaring celebration. The music will move between Indian classical, Sufi, Bhakti, Gospel with both Indian and contemporary arrangements. My hope is that audiences leave feeling more connected to themselves and the sacred that lives within all of us.

Will this be the Sufi Gospel Project ensemble, or are you collaborating with a new set of musicians?

So The Sufi Gospel Project was never an ensemble but an idea, a musical project that I created to talk about what Sufism and Faith meant to me. It was created to put forth a more expansive and inclusive definition of Sufism than the one people knew. My team of musicians has remained for the most part and we’ve done many other projects together. Over the years, we have developed a deep musical language together-one that allows us to move fluidly between qawwali, gospel harmonies, Indian classical textures, and spoken word. Since all the music I create is based on the idea of a collective humanity in a larger sense, every musician on stage understands that we are holding space for something larger than ourselves. At the same time, there are a few new musicians joining us for this performance, which brings a fresh energy and perspective.

What drove you to reinterpret socially and politically resonant works like Hum Dekhenge and Bol?

I strongly believe artists are both the social conscience of society and its voice. And I believe it is our moral responsibility to use that voice consciously. Hum Dekhenge and Bol were never just songs, they were appeals. They were created to awaken people’s consciousness. They were created to ask us to stand for justice, for dignity, for fairness and for what we truly believe in. Bol reminds us that our voice is our greatest tool and that we must use it for the greater good of humanity. Hum dekhenge by Faiz blended with Where the mind is without Fear by Tagore was created as a plea for a peace and justice.

In September last year, you collaborated across borders with Iranian visual artist Faezeh Sepehrsadrghian and Gopika Chowla on Chaleya Momin. How did this collaboration come about, and what does the piece signify?

This wasn’t just a cross-border collaboration, it was an act of sisterhood. Coming together with Iranian visual artist Faezeh Sepehrsadrghian and Gopika Chowla was deeply meaningful for me. Written by me and co-produced with Saptak Chatterjee, we created this work across four countries and three continents, through endless brainstorming, messages, zoom calls, late-night mixes and remixes, until it became a song that asks one simple question: can we create a world without labels and divisions? Can we be kinder to one another? At its heart, it is about the seeker ‘The momin’ searching not just for the Divine, but for a more compassionate humanity, a kinder world.

You were honoured with Silver Medals at the Global Music Awards 2025 for Hum Dekhenge – Where the Mind is Without Fear, Hallelujah – Allah Hoo, and Bol. How do you approach such a seamless fusion?

For me, the fusion is not forced, it is inherent. When you read Faiz, Tagore, or Bulleh Shah deeply, you realise they are all speaking about freedom, inner and outer. The musical arrangements emerge from the emotional core of the text. If a line calls for gospel harmony, we honour that. If it demands the rawness of a Sufi alaap, we follow that instinct. The key is respect, for the poetry, for the tradition, and for the listener.

What is the project ‘Partition: Stories of Separation’ all about and what moved you to take on this deeply emotional subject?

‘Partition: Stories of Separation’ was an experiential performance using music, theatre, video and design to retell the stories of separation as a result of the partition of India in 1947. I decided to explore what the partition meant, through music. Many of the stories we have heard from our grandparents will be lost with the passing of the older generation and they need to be preserved, honoured and to serve as lessons for generations to come.

Sufi music has traditionally been seen as a male-dominated space. Do you feel that the landscape is changing and that more women now finding space and recognition within the genre?

Yes, I do feel the landscape is shifting. While Sufi performance spaces were historically male-dominated, women have always been present, as poets, as patrons, as spiritual practitioners as the love that the male poets wrote about was also feminine in form. Today, more women are stepping forward visibly as performers and composers, and audiences are embracing that. And that is a hopeful sign.

Your work often speaks of music as a healing force. When did you first recognise its therapeutic power in your own life?

Music has always been my saviour. It have been my balm during pain and loss and my joy and equilibrium at other times. Singing grounds me and makes me fly at the same time. And it connects me to the audience in a beautiful unspoken and strong way that is hard to explain. After a concert I have had so many lovely people share how a piece helped them process grief or reconnect with faith. That is when I understood that music is not entertainment alone; it is medicine.

Take us back to the beginning — how did music enter your life, and how did the Sufi Gospel Project come into being?

For as long as I can remember, there was always music in our home. I remember sitting on my mother’s lap listening to Begum Akhtar, there was such stillness and surrender on her face when she listened. That left a deep impression on me. My mother loved music and we listened to a wide variety of music at home. From Begum Akhtar to the Beatle’s and Kumar Gandharva to Frank Sinatra. I began learning very young at the age of 4 and through my life trained in Indian classical music with remarkable teachers from the Dagar Brothers to Shubha Mudgal ji and Pt. sarathi Chatterjee. Music has always been what I wanted to do. I did take a small detour however, I went to art school and worked in advertising as a writer and designer but I eventually found my way back to music. And that return was important. I came back not just to sing, but because I felt I finally had something to express.

The Sufi Gospel Project grew from a persistent question in my mind. If all faiths speak of love, surrender, and oneness, then why do we emphasise our differences? I’ve always believed that religion is not God and that God has no religion. And so I thought why not blend the many voices of faith to try and create one voice of faith. What began as an exploration bringing Sufi poetry and gospel music together slowly expanded to include Bhakti poetry and other sacred voices. Over time, it became my language, my personal interpretation of Sufism. Blending spoken English word while singing Urdu Sufi Kalaam, weaving Kabir Das’s word with a Gospel hymn, or Baba Bulleh Shah with Rumi, it became about trying to say that many different Hallelujahs, many different calls to god can and must exist in harmony.

The music that I create within ‘The Sufi Gospel Project’ blends together the many voices of faith through Poetry, Prayer and Music to create one universal voice of faith. In the music I create for The Sufi Gospel Project Traditional Western Gospels meld with Hindustani classical music and Indian spiritual texts are enriched by elements of Western poetry to create a sound that touches every soul. To put forth the idea that no matter what the language of the lyrics or the ethnicity of the sounds is, there is but one language- the language of faith. Creating a musical landscape where the words of Sufi Master Amir Khusrau blend with the plaintive strains of the age-old Gospel Hymn, Amazing Grace, Where Sufi poet Kabir Das’s sagacity shares the stage with the ever-moving verses of the hymn, Abide with Me. And where the playful wisdom of Baba Bulleh Shah’s philosophy is brought to life amidst English texts and Irish music whilst Guru Nanak's words resonate with the harmonies of world Folk sounds. Shedding the garb of traditional Sufi and Gospel interpretations and finding common ground to create a more all-inclusive definition of Oneness that also embraces Bhakti, contemporary poetry and more. Proving that many different hallelujahs can exist in harmony. And that whilst each of us has our own truth and that no matter where you find that truth-in a temple, a shrine, a church or a mosque, the most important fact is, that each truth is just as valid. 

Several pieces from The Sufi Gospel Project embody this vision. When I created Hallelujah – Allah Hoo I brought Man Kunto Maula and Hallelujah together to put forth the message that many different calls to God, many Hallelujahs can and must exist in harmony. My version of the hymn, Abide With Me, is another example - I blend this Christian hymn with the words of Kabir Das Moko Kahan Dhoode re Bandey Mein to tere pass mein, - “why do you look for me outside when I am in you, and in every breath of every man” this shows the seamless news of faith.

Most of my pieces speak of divine love that dissolves all boundaries. Even my original composition of Baba Bulleh Shahs poetry “Alfat” says that the Divine in every being and I bow to this divinity in each being.

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You have received numerous accolades over the years. What continues to inspire you creatively and spiritually?

When it comes to music, I still feel like a child in a candy store - wanting to do so much, excited, curious, and small. What inspires me is the vastness of music and how tiny we are within its beautiful, expansive world.

The one quality I believe is essential to being a good artist, true artist is humility. The minute you begin to believe you are bigger than the gift of music, that’s when, for me, it stops being pure. Music is always greater than us. We are only vessels.

The more I learn about different traditions, the more I realise how much remains unexplored. That sense of discovery keeps me alive creatively. Poetry continues to inspire me, especially verses that challenge divisiness, challenge ego and expand compassion.

And spiritually, I’m deeply inspired by the idea of love and inclusion. I believe that music must be a bridge, a balm, a reminder of unity. If it can bring even a small moment of connection or healing, then it has done its work. As an artist it is our responsibility to be voices and the social conscience of a society

What other musical projects or collaborations are you currently working on?

There are a couple of really exciting projects in the pipeline which should turn out to be quote special - fingers crossed- I’ll share them when they’re ready.

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