Lord Sheikh hosted an event to celebrate the life, times and writings of Baba Bulleh Shah at the Nehru Centre. Lord Sheikh does follow the philosophy of Baba Bulleh Shah who said that there should be no discrimination of race, colour, cast or creed.

There were recitals of his poems and also singing of his work. There was playing of harmonium and tabna and also speeches on the Baba. Participation at the event was by people who are Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims.

Baba Bulleh Shah is also called ‘King of Sufi poetry’. He was a humanist, Sufi poet, philosopher and teacher and he is truly a legend. Bulleh Shah lived during the same period as of Sindhi Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. His lifetime also extended with the Punjabi poet Waris Shah of Heer Ranjha fame, and the Sindhi Sufi poet Sachal Sarmast. His poetry has been admirably sung by every genre of singer like street- singers, to legends like Abida Parveen, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sain Zahoor, and Waddali Brothers, UK based Asian artists, and Pakistani rock band Junoon, has sung Bulleh Shah’s Kafi in a beautiful manner. Some of Bulleh Shah’s verses, including “Tere Ishq Nachaya”, have been adapted and used in Bollywood film songs including “Chaiyya Chaiyya” and “Thayya Thayya”.

Lord Sheikh spoke about his reason for hosting the meeting: more people should celebrate the Baba’s writings as there are more similarities between people than differences and we need to emphasise the similarities. Lord Sheikh has always been fascinated by Baba Bulleh shah and noted that his writings still speak to many different people and they are appreciated by all religions, including: Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and Christians. Indeed, even people of no religious denomination have an affinity to the Baba. Lord Sheikh stated that he believes that everyone can take something from Baba Bulleh Shah’s writings and that his poetry can be used as guidance, as well as refuge in the world we live in today.