Many centuries ago, the beautiful Marvi of Amarkot, Thar, Sindh was abducted and imprisoned by Umer Soomro, the king of the time...
ENTERTAINMENT
Many centuries ago, the beautiful Marvi of Amarkot, Thar, Sindh was abducted and imprisoned by Umer Soomro, the king of the time. Amarkot was named after its founder and king, Amar Singh, but over the years, the name changed to Umerkot, and it was erroneously linked to Umer of Umer-Marvi fame. However, to avoid confusion we will use its current name Umerkot instead of its original name Amarkot.
The Umer-Marvi saga is not a tragic love story like Romeo and Juliet or Heer Ranjha. It is a story of a strong, defiant woman standing up to a ruler who tried to force his love on her. Marvi was in love with someone else and nothing King Umer did worked to make her fall in love with him. Umer kept her imprisoned in the famous Umerkot fort, but she stood her ground.
Unable to convince Marvi to give up her love, the king had to let her go. When Marvi returned triumphant to her village, she became the symbol of empowerment for women in Thar. According to folklore, the people of her village welcomed her by singing ‘Aayi Aayi’ - loosely translated as ‘here she comes’ - became an instant hit.
This is the same song that became a sensation since Coke Studio launched it this season. It is a beautiful blend of traditional and modern music and voices. The raw beautiful desert voices of Marvi and Saibaan – singers from Umerkot – with Noman Ali Rajper and rapper Babar Mangi is a befitting tribute to Thar and Marvi.
Coke Studio has set a tradition of introducing and showcasing undiscovered talent from Pakistan’s music landscape. This tradition continues with the release of Aayi Aayi.
Aayi Aayi is a beautiful rendition of a melodious desert song mixed with modern rap - mixing traditional music with newer tunes. The listener can’t help humming along with the catchy tune of Aayi Aayi. The words are simple and sweet and a mix of different dialects and rap, revealing the emotions behind them. Even if you don’t understand the lyrics, you can’t help being swayed by it. You can almost hear the voices from the past of the villagers rejoicing the return of Marvi from the prison of King Umer.
Like the great Reshma who mesmerised her listener with her powerful and soul-searching voice, the raw natural quality of Saibaan’s and Marvi’s voices seem to beckon you to walk back in time to join the celebrations of Amarkot.
The genius experiment by Coke Studio’s team of weaving the modern music played on modern instruments and sung by modern voices with traditional tunes, instruments and voices and tunes from Thar is a great addition to Pakistan’s music scene.
Noman Ali Rajper did a brilliant job - his powerful voice adding flavour to the song. His words are soft and welcoming, portraying the hospitality and reality of Sindh. The young rapper Babar Mangi highlighted the youth of Sindh and how they have moved on with time but retain the traditional hospitality and simplicity of Sindh.
Incorporating rapping with traditional song has helped to seamlessly link the past to the present. Even though rapping is an acquired taste and has a unique audience, Babar Mangi’s rapping seemed natural as he rapped his lines. Babar managed to carry his own and made an impact on the audience. The song would be incomplete without Babar Mangi.
Not only is the song a treat to hear but the music video is also a pleasure to watch. The video canvasses the simple beauty of Sindh, especially of Thar. The beautiful faces of the people, in their bright colourful clothes doing daily chores give us a glimpse into the lives of the region.
The song Aayi Aayi is not only a good addition to music in Pakistan but has also been of help for the people of Umerkot. Saibaan and Marvi and the song Aayi Aayi have become the Tansen and Raga Megh Malhar of Megwarh village, Umerkot, Thar. The singers put their region and their problems on the map. Months after the singers recorded their song with Coke Studio, the company’s established a water filter plant to be be supervised by Megwarh village women in , Umerkot which will provide 800 households with clean drinking water.
The water plant not only provides precious safe drinking water for the people of the villages close by but eases the lives of the women of the region. Now they don’t have to walk miles in severe weathers to get water for their families and communities; they just have to walk a few feet to get water.
Aayi Aayi Saiban-Marvi!
