Tina Sani to sing Amir Khusrow for the first time

Veteran ghazal proponent embarks on journey of self-discovery

KARACHI: The Tina Sani of today is not the same as the Tina Sani of yesteryears. It’s not like she was never selective about her work in the first place. She always made her choices with great care and perhaps it was this very attention-to-detail that made her who she is.

How often do we hear of her performing live or appearing on TV or working on a project? Almost all of her contemporaries have bowed out and it seems she herself has made it a point to avoid public appearances; ghazal singing itself has become a dying trade and it is times like these when maestros such as Tina are missed the most.

Six years ago, she agreed on featuring in Coke Studio. We saw hope. But then she retired once again. Last year, she lent her voice for Ho Mann Jahaan’s rendition of Khush Piya Waseen. We thought we might begin to see the Faizs and Iqbals come to life, once more, in this age of lyrical and instrumental noise. While that might still take a while, it seems an epiphany of sorts has spurred the singing veteran back into action.



“Usually, I hibernate in the summer,” she tells The Express Tribune. However, seeing sitar maestro Vilayat Khan’s son Shujaat Hussain Khan perform a piece of Amir Khusrow, Tina made up her mind to work with the writings of the Hindustani music icon.“They resonate with my style and this is the kind of music that I would want to do,” she says.



Having sung and popularised numerous kalaams in the past, this is the first time Tina will be treading in the alley of Khusrow. “I don’t do concerts or musical events but for this I have decided to work in collaboration.”

The singer has chosen tabla player Yousuf Kerai and sitar player Shehroze Hussain for the project. Having recently heard the duo play at an event in Karachi, she decided there and then to have them on board. “I was wowed when I heard these guys play. Now, we need to see how we gel in together,” she adds.

The opportunity of trying something new that entails a lot of promise does excite the veteran. “This is really going to be very exciting and even challenging for me … Challenging because I will be getting out of my comfort zone. I wouldn’t be playing the same old songs but going further!” With Khusrow, she has embarked on a journey of self-discovery.

Having sat back and observed the happenings in the music industry, Tina feels things are not as bad as they seem. “Young musicians bring a variety of new ideas to the table which is a pleasure to see and hear.”

Yousuf also shares his thoughts about the project. “It’s a new, exciting thing. It’s interesting how we are trying to work out in a way,” he says, adding, “The instruments and her vocals are in continuous dialogue with one another. It is an honour to work on Khusrow’s kalaams and the way she is going about it all is very unconventional.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2016.

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