Since this was Delhi, we reached Red Fort one hour after the scheduled start of the concert. It is not considered respectable in the status-sensitive society of India's capital to arrive at a venue on time.

Red Fort is Old Delhi's most imposing architecture — a 17th century monument of sandstones excavated from the burning deserts of Rajasthan. Constructed during the reign of Shahjahan, the emperor who gave Taj Mahal to the world, Red Fort was the grand palace of the great Mughals from whose ornate chambers they used to rule over the immeasurable expanse of their gigantic empire in South Asia. 

Feeling smug and arrogant, we held our chins up high as we allowed ourselves to be security-checked by the Red Fort guards — the monument is on the hit list of Islamist terrorists. We entered through Lahori Gate, an entrance from whose ramparts the Indian Prime Minister annually address the nation on the country's Independence Day.

There was no one in the pillared hall of Diwan-e-Aam (Hall for Common People) but Diwan-i-Khaas (Hall for Important People), where once Mughal Emperors used to grant private audience, blinked from a distance as if vacuum-packed in a bright orange bubble. The entire setting was a bit too grand for a Sufi concert; after all ,Sufis were poor Muslim ascetics who reached out to the Gods singing uncomplicated love poems.

Yet, the buzz was that of a major Sufi concert, with performances said to be by acclaimed Pakistani artists. And, allegedly, all the tickets were sold out. But like good Delhites, we had managed to get hold of free passes through a friend who had a passing acquaintance with a person friendly with the powerful.

The Ramadan Night Blushed Under the Red Fort Dazzle

The open air theater was filled with Very Important Persons, popularly known as VIPs. Most of them looked like the very people with whom our friend's passing acquaintance was friendly. We were the tip of the VIP tail, which in Delhi lingo meant we were nothing. But who cared? It was a Sufi evening and we were determined to savour the mood. Besides, we understood the concert was a part of the people-to-people contact programme between the rival nations of India and Pakistan. This made our peacenik hearts swell proudly with uninhibited righteousness.

Diwaan-e-Khaas Invaded by the 36 Virgins of Paradise