By Peerzada Salman
KARACHI: “If music be the food of love, play on,” seemed to be the mantra at an evening of semi-classical music organised at a local club on Friday by a non-governmental organisation (Mauseeqar) that works for the promotion and revival of classical music and instruments in the country.
Two singers Alia Rasheed and Ijaz Qaiser, who had come from Lahore to partake in the event, sang in front of a receptive audience. They were accompanied on stage by Ustad Bashir Khan (tabla), Idrees (harmonium) and Akhtar Husain (sarangi).
Alia Rasheed is a relatively new artist and despite being visually impaired she is an avid music lover. In 2001 Alia went to Bhopal, India, where she studied and learnt the dhrupad style of music from the Gundecha brothers (Umakant and Ramakant). The Gundecha brothers (trained by dhrupad greats Zia Fariduddin Dagar and Zia Mohiuddin Dagar) are known for expanding the dhrupad range by including Hindi poetry in the genre.
Alia Rasheed began by a hamd (hymn) in raag malkons (Ilahi tu be misl o manand hai). Then she sang one of Mirza Ghalib’s most celebrated ghazals, Taskeen ko hum na ro’en jo zoq-i-nazar miley. She performed the verbally demanding piece with poise and composure and was well-appreciated. This was followed by a famous Iqbal Bano-sung ghazal, Dagh-i-dil hum ko yaad aney lagey, which the audience felt thrilled to listen to from the first note struck by the singer.
Bearing in mind the public’s penchant for known numbers, Alia sang another great ghazal, Jab say tu nay mujhay deewana bana rakha hay. Subsequently she crooned out a few Indian and Pakistani film songs made immortal by the likes of Lata Mangeshkar and Noor Jehan and rounded off her stint with a Punjabi Noor Jehan number. While Alia Rasheed is a good singer and has a khanak in her voice that reminded one of the great Shamshad Begum, one felt that with a little bit of more hard work and guidance she could go places.
Ijaz Qaiser is no new entrant to the field of music and has been singing for quite some time. Born in Faisalabad in 1954, he learnt his art from some notable musicians, including Ustad Akhtar Husain Akhian.
Ijaz started off with Shad Azimabadi’s well-known ghazal, Tamannaon mein uljhaya gaya hoon and followed it up with a ghazal by another literary giant Dagh, Khatir say ya lihaz say. Ijaz’s approach clearly indicated that he has modelled himself (consciously or unconsciously) on the legendary Mehdi Hasan. So it didn’t come as a surprise when he sang a few of the most famous Mehdi Hasan ghazals such as Ab kay hum bicchray tau shaed, Ku ba ku phael gaee, and Ranjish he sahi dil he dukhaney kay liyay aa. He also performed a film song Piyar bharay dau sharmeelay nain. His efforts were very well-received.
It would be unjust not to mention Ustad Bashir Khan’s remarkable performance on the tabla during the evening. The ustad was the unsung hero of the day who played the instrument with such dexterity that it often camouflaged the singers and the PA system’s overdoing.
In the end, Dr Saira Khan of Mauseeqar thanked the two artistes for making the musical function a memorable event.
Source: Dawn
Date:2/14/2010
