A treat of bansuri for music aficionados

Salman Adil along with Ustad Mohammad Ajmal at Kuch Khaas on Saturday. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD JAVAID

Ustad Mohammad Ajmal on tabla accompanied Adil, as a mix of foreigners and local music aficionados, including youngsters, gathered for a night of music at Kuch Khaas on Saturday. The event aimed to create awareness about the traditional and cultural musicians.

When the crowd became sober and lost in the melody of the flute, Adil switched to Rag Bhopali, which is a combination of five full notes that bear resemblance to the faster and livelier Rag Pahari; his partner Ajmal matched the flute rhythm with rhythm into a fast crescendo of swift beats.

“It is so good to see so many youngsters at our event, it goes to show that all ages can enjoy classical music,” said Omair Jaffer organiser and head of Institute for the Preservation of Art and Culture, which organised the event.

The event is part of “instrumental ecstasy concert”, a six-part series concert where each event will showcase a local artist on an instrument. The Bansuri is a transverse (side-blown) bamboo flute from the subcontinent and is one of the world’s most ancient instruments, having existed in more or less its current form for about 4,000 years.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2012.