Promiment folk musicians and dancers from all over Pakistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are participating in a unique musical festival that started in Ayubia on Friday.
The three-day festival, the first of its kind in Hazara division, has been organised by the Tourism Corporation Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP) and aims to attract tourists in the area by providing cultural entertainment.
Cholistani, Khattak and Wazir Attan dances of K-P, Gatka fight of Hazara division, Jhoomer and Tharri dances of Sindh and Multani dance from Punjab are among the major attractions of the festival. Amir Zem, Hammad Baig, Rizwana Khan, Afshan Zebi, Musaddir Zaman, Janas Khan, Ismail Junaid, Karan Khan and Khalid Malik are some of the artists from K-P who performed at the event on its first day.
Although most of the performers from K-P presented traditional Pashto music, it was enjoyed by everyone as music transcends language.
Some people said they were saddened to see that artists from Hazara division were neglected during the event, as none of the artists got a chance to perform.
According to sources, tourists also objected to the compering, which was carried out in Pashto, even though most of the audience was from Punjab.
The organisers said well-known singers such as Shazia Khushk, Akhtar Chanaal, Gulzar Alam, Ahmed Gul, Nadeem Abbad, Rukhsana Kashmiri, Safdar Hussain, Mumtaz Ali and Rehmat Bano would perform on the second night, while Amanat Ali, Faakhir, Rabi Pirzada, Humera Arshad, Roxen the Band and other musicians will entertain the audience on Sunday night.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 24th, 2011.
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