PHOTO: PUBLICITY
Relly Jiggered is an award-winning Ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee) band inspired by celtic (pronounced sel-tic) folk music. They have toured all around the world and performed at numerous music festivals. The band includes Alison McNeill (fiddle and vocals), Fiona McNeill (guitar, bodhran and vocals) and Scott McLean (percussion).
During the event, the band performed many of their most popular songs. They also shared the reason for their visit with the audience, stating that they are in Pakistan to celebrate Burns Night; an annual event celebrating one of Scotland's most famous national poets, Robert Burns. Burns Night, which is celebrated around the world, involves Scottish dancing and eating 'haggis', a traditional food item. Before the performance, Relly Jiggered also read out the renowned poets writings. The event lasted for around three hours.
According to them, he was a legend and there is a large number of communities across the world that are impressed with his poetry. Therefore, many people around the world celebrate this day. Relly Jiggered will be travelling around Pakistan to cities including, Islamabad, Karachi and Sialkot. "We will be visiting other cities and hope to receive the same amount of love and respect as we have had in Lahore," Alison told The Express Tribune. “We visited Pakistan last year too, however our tour was limited and we were only able to perform in Islamabad. I am glad we have had another chance to come back here and perform at various other places including Lahore," she added.
Fans of the Scottish band were gathered at Lahore's British Council for the musical event which was staged at the library. Besides local supporters, foreign guests from the UK and other countries were also present at the event. The council's administration had decorated the library for the event. According to British Council officials, this was the first time Relly Jiggered had been invited to perform in Lahore. The band will also hold a special performance at the Charity Ball at the British High Commission, held every year to honour the poet.
Alison stated that they have managed to impress audiences who have been so welcoming and given them an amazing response. "We also toured the historic city of Lahore, taking in the culture in the form of buildings including the fort. We also enjoyed the food here, even the spice."
She further shared that it was a pleasant surprise to see the locals celebrating Burns Night and the band is excited to see their enthusiasm. "This is proof that the people of Pakistan have knowledge about the traditions around the world. We are all connected through love and music.We have even managed to learn a few Urdu sentences during our stay in Lahore which has allowed us to communicate with audiences in the national language."
Before holding the event at the British Council, Relly Jiggered had performed at Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust High School, where a large number of students and were present. According to British Council officials, the band awarded the Pakistan Scottish Scholarship to some students. The scholarship aims to make higher education more accessible to underprivileged girls across Pakistan.
British Council’s Area Director Maarya Rehman, and Punjab University Dean of College of Pharmacology Dr Syed Nawazish-i-Husain presented the scholarships. “This scheme was launched back in 2013 in collaboration with the Scottish government. With their support, we have been able to assist over 500 young Pakistani women to pursue higher education," stated Maarya. She added, "We hope that these scholarships will not only increase female participation in higher education, but also promote greater gender equality in fields that women in Pakistan don’t typically pursue."
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