Ruhbaru To Debut In India With The Orchestral Qawwali Project In December
Produced by BAE and Cultural (Mis)fits, the tour will feature Rushil Ranjan and Abi Sampa across four Indian cities
Events
Ruhbaru, a new premium cultural IP focused on music, artists and live experiences, will make its debut with The Orchestral Qawwali Project (OQP) in December 2026. Produced by BAE (Before Anyone Else), ABP Network’s live entertainment platform, and creatively produced by Cultural (Mis)fits, the four-city tour will feature internationally acclaimed composer Rushil Ranjan and vocalist Abi Sampa.
Founded in 2020, The Orchestral Qawwali Project explores the intersection of qawwali and orchestral music, bringing together Western classical, South Asian and Indian classical traditions with classical dance and immersive live performance.
The project has performed at prominent international venues, including the Royal Albert Hall, Roundhouse, Barbican and Symphony Hall Birmingham. Following their 2024 performance at the Royal Albert Hall, Ranjan and Sampa were named Associate Artists of the institution. Their reimagining of the centuries-old qawwali Man Kunto Maula has also garnered millions of views online.
With its India debut, OQP will mark the first chapter of Ruhbaru, which is conceived as an anthology of cultural experiences. While the platform will remain constant, each chapter will introduce audiences to different artists, sounds and traditions under its tagline, “Sounds that speak to your Ruh/Soul”.
“Qawwali has always been more than music; it is poetry, devotion and surrender, brought to life through a shared experience. With the Orchestral Qawwali Project, we wanted to honour its timeless essence while giving it a larger, symphonic canvas, bringing international orchestral artists and qawwals together on Indian stages for the first time,” said Rajat Uppal, Chief Operating Officer, BAE.
He added that the project reflects BAE’s focus on creating live experiences that are fresh, meaningful and memorable, bringing together the soul of qawwali and the scale of an orchestra.
Ishita Chauhan, Founder and CEO of Cultural (Mis)fits, said Ruhbaru aims to address what she described as a discovery gap in India’s music landscape.
“India doesn't have a shortage of extraordinary music. It has a discovery problem,” Chauhan said, adding that artists are often defined by their language, genre or geography, limiting their reach beyond familiar audiences.
She said Ruhbaru intends to bring audiences closer to music across Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and regional languages, spanning contemporary folk, Sufi, qawwali, devotional, classical, acoustic, indie and cross-genre fusion. The platform's first chapter, she added, reflects its aim to help rooted musical traditions reach audiences across generations and geographies without losing their essence.
Ranjan, an award-winning composer and producer, brings together Western orchestral and choral traditions with South Asian devotional and classical music. He is an Associate Artist of the Royal Albert Hall, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s first Collaborative Artist and Artistic Partner of Manchester Camerata. His work spans concert music, dance productions and film and television projects, alongside collaborations with international artists and institutions.
Sampa, a qawwal, veena virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist, is also an Associate Artist of the Royal Albert Hall and co-founder of OQP. Her work combines South Asian classical musicianship with the improvisational and devotional traditions of qawwali. She was the first singer from an Asian classical tradition to appear on The Voice UK.
Together, the artists have developed a musical approach that places centuries-old devotional poetry within a contemporary orchestral setting. Rather than simply combining two genres, OQP seeks to create a distinct musical language through orchestral composition, choral arrangements and Sampa’s improvisational vocals.
The India Tour
The December 2026 tour will travel across four cities:
- December 5: Yashobhoomi, Delhi
- December 6: Terraform Arena, Bengaluru
- December 12: Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad
- December 13: JW Marriott Sahar, Mumbai
Through Ruhbaru, Cultural (Mis)fits and BAE aim to build a platform where distinctive artists can reach new audiences and listeners can discover music beyond familiar genres and cultural boundaries.
OQP will be the first chapter in the initiative, with future editions expected to feature other artists, sounds and cultural traditions. Tickets are available through District.