Music has a universal language and this fact becomes more palpable each time there is the emergence of a collaboration that cuts across borders and cultures.
through musicArtists from India and Pakistan come together to pay tribute
to legends Mehdi Hasan and Jagjit Singh.
Dubai
Music has a universal language and this fact becomes more palpable each time there is the emergence of a collaboration that cuts across borders and cultures. Though the recent division felt between artistic communities in India and Pakistan after the Uri attack may have impacted cinema drastically, the music scene has managed to strike a kind of harmony that is discernible.
A case in point was a recent music evening where artists from India and Pakistan shared the stage in order to pay tribute to the masters of ghazals, the late genius Mehdi Hasan and the late but forever great Jagjit Singh.
Aptly titled ‘The Ghazal Symphony – Remembering the Legends’, it was a night that reverberated with the sound of the golden era of ghazals that was recreated by five of the most distinguished ghazal singers of the modern age, namely Ustad Ghulam Ali, Pankaj Udhas, Rekha Bhardwaj, Talat Aziz and Sanam Marvi. Adding more credibility to the night were approximately 30 musicians who played everything from the harmonium to the tabla and sarangi as they accompanied the modern ghazal masters.
Moazzam Ahmad Khan, the Pakistan’s ambassador to the UAE, presenting Ustad Ghulam Ali with an award for his contribution to music.
Despite the invite’s declaration that Ghulam Ali sahib would be making a rare appearance - to receive an award for his contribution to this genre of music - nobody knew if he would also sing. But Ghulam Ali, an epitome of humility and grace on stage, kept thanking the audience upon receiving the honour and said, “I am not much of a singer but it’s the love of the audience that has made me what I am.”
The packed hall secretly wished for him to sing his famous song ‘Awargi’ as one could hear requests flowing across the hall. In turn, he serenaded those present by singing a total of five ghazals back-to-back, including the iconic ‘Chupke Chupke’ and ‘Hungama Hai Kyun Burpa’.
While onstage, he also shared details from his illustrious career including the fact that he has been signing ghazals since 1959 and Radio Pakistan Lahore played an important role in his musical life.
While speaking about the late Hasan and Singh, he had nothing but kind words to share. “All ghazal singers are great; Mehdi Hasan sahib has been great. Jagjit bhai has been amazing, too. He has been a brother to me and sung much better than me. Everyone [has] their own genre and are good in that.”
Anu Kapoor, the man who taught us how to play Antakshri, was the host for the night and he seemed to have perfected his Urdu dialect. The poem he read when he introduced Jagjit Singh’s segment was so poignant that it brought tears to many eyes.
Some of ghazal's most distinguished names from the modern era such as Pankaj Udhas (left), Rekha Bhardwaj (right) & Sanam Marvi (below) came together to pay tribute to two masters: the late Mehdi Hasan and the late Jagjit Singh.
The inimitable Sanam Marvi came on stage and began with ‘Woh Humsafar Tha’ and followed it up with other songs. She also spoke about how she loved “to perform in Dubai in front of a mixed crowd from both sides of the border”.
Rekha Bhardwaj, mesmerized everyone with her famous song from Barfi, ‘Phir Le Aya Dil’. She also surprised the audience by choosing to pay tribute to the late Mehdi Hasan by singing one of Hasan’s best tunes, ‘Pyar Bhare Do Shirmeele Nain’. There is little doubt among those who have an ear for music that her tribute to Hasan was the best from the night. Bhardwaj also paid tribute to the memory of Jagjit Singh as she sang the number ‘Koi Yeh Kaisay Bataye’.
Talat Aziz, upon taking the stage, kept the audiences entertained with several of his own songs. Aziz opened with ‘Zindagi Jab Teri’, a song from the movie Umrao Jaan and shared several anecdotes about his journey into ghazal singing; he also spoke of his relationship with Mehdi Hasan, dating back to the eighties.
The final performance of the night came from ghazal king Pankaj Udhas whose musical catalogue is so extensive that he could hold court all alone, without any difficulty. However, on this particular night, Udhas sang songs like ‘Jiye Toh Jiye Jaise Kaise’, ‘Aur Ahista Kijye Baat’, ‘Naa Kajre Ki Dhaar Na Motiyon Ki Haar’ and ‘Chaandi Jaisa Rang Hai Tera’ and ended the night with ‘Chitthi Ayi Hai’.
Aside from the glorious ode to the two giants of music, events like these are important because they help in diminishing cultural and political differences amongst countries. Kudos.
Sadiq Saleem is a Dubai based entertainment journalist. He is also an Instep correspondent and can be contacted on his page fb/sidsaidso.
