Lucknow, Sep 2 - Overcoming opposition from his family and community, a Muslim man left his ancestral profession of singing qawwalis to sing Hindu hymns in the temples of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Today he is much sought after by devotees there.

For Rojan Ali, 55, a farmer living in Chaubeypur town of Varanasi district, some 250 km from here, singing was his way of reaching out to god.

'After offering morning prayers in the mosque, I go to a number of temples in the holy city to sing bhajans,' Ali told IANS over telephone.

'I derive immense pleasure from this activity. I just cannot put my feelings into words. I can only say that the entire period during which I sing the religious songs, I feel connected with the almighty,' he added.

It was nearly 30 years ago that he decided to stop singing qawwalis and opted for bhajans.

'I started giving stage performances with my father while I was just 15. At that time, I came into contact with some youths in Varanasi, who used to sing devotional Hindu songs that impressed me a lot. I started meeting them frequently and gradually we became friends.'

'As I grew up, I realised I was not able to satiate my urge to sing devotional songs...Just to fulfil that urge I took up singing devotional songs when I reached 25,' recalled Ali, who sings kirtans and also pens bhajans.