India, March 29 -- Delhi dirt has a long memory. It stores eight hundred years of Sufi prayers right in its grain. These jagged red rocks at Purana Qila have seen empires fall. They have seen kings turn to dust. But the music of Amir Khusrau stayed. The quiet grace of Nizamuddin Auliya never left. For twenty-six years, Muzaffar Ali has curated this experience to keep the flame alive, presented by the Rumi Foundation. Jahan-e-Khusrau feels like a raw, physical connection. It joins the person in the crowd to something much older. The modern world outside the gates feels small now.

The story this year is the Steed of Longing. Think of a horse. It is a heart that cannot stay still. A soul galloping toward a love it feels but cannot touch. Th...