The author is a culture critic based in Lahore
Marsiya, soz, noha, salaam have a long history in the subcontinent
Many holy sites associated with various religions, especially Buddhism, are located in Pakistan
Ustads Nazakat Ali Khan and Salamat Ali Khan amazed everyone with their rapid rise to fame
Actor Shakeel mesmeried viewers of the small screen for three decades
Cultural purges have dealt much of what was in our culture, a cruel blow
More funds are required from government for artistes in need of financial aid
For several decades now, the film industry has been on a virtual ventilator. The raft of Covid-19 restrictions did not help
After 1947, Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, Mehdi Hassan, Fareeda Khanum and Iqbal Bano took singing to new heights
Most of the groups that produce stage plays draw their thespian language from the traditional or rural theatre
Ustad Sharif Khan spent long hours mastering the very difficult art of playing the veena
In the early 1970s, Shoaib Hashmi was on television setting up new standards for skits and episodic pieces
The European civilisation has conquered the rest of the world in the past 500 years
Manto focused on the horror of partition as well as the lives of labourers, petty officials and women
Naushad Ali’s success story is similar to Prithviraj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar’s rise to fame
Nusrat Fateh Ali took the qawwali, like his contemporaries, away from the shrine to the concert format
Vaisakhi was once the most prominent event of the agricultural calendar
Afghan musicians in Pakistan are nothing new but this time the threats to their lives and livelihoods are more serious
Over the centuries, various forms of music such as qaawali have been linked to religious festivals
Ustad Bismillah Khan was influenced by his maternal uncle, Ali Bux, also a shehani player
Anwar Maqsood’s Sarhay Chauda August revolves around the idea of a utopia people wanted after the colonial rule
