An exciting evening with special musicians

PNCA organises a musical night with special people.

ISLAMABAD:

A group of very talented physically-challenged artists enthralled the audience at a musical evening held at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) on Friday night.

The “Evening with Special Singers” featured handicapped musicians from across the country performing classical ragas, songs and ghazals, while playing tunes on a variety of musical instruments.

The artists were given a platform with a sizeable audience and they seized the opportunity, easily proving themselves in the field of performing arts.

Among the highlights was Rafia Bano, a handicapped singer from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), who mesmerised the audience with her song “Sada hoon apne pyar ki”. Bano has been singing songs on radio and television and is popularly known as “the Queen of Hazara”. The audience were also captivated by the tunes played by Muhammad Salman, a physically challenged artist, on the flute.

Alia Rasheed, a visually impaired music teacher at the National College of Arts (NCA) Lahore, received standing ovations upon singing the Kalam of Bulleh Shah and much applause on poems of Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The singer’s performance of Dhrupad Raga kept the enchanted audience glued to their seats even though the show ran half-an-hour long. The artist spent four years studying music in India and has represented Pakistan in various shows abroad.

Noman Mirza, a singer from Punjab who suffers from tetraplegia (paralysis of the torso and all limbs), gave a stunning performances by singing popular Punjabi songs, including Bismillah Karan and Mainu Yaadan Teriyan Aundiyan Ne, originally sang by Nusrat Fatah Ali Khan. After an audience request, he sang another Punjabi title, “Ni Tu Nikki Nikki Gal Te Hi Russ Jani Ae” which also received much applause.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Mirza said special singers should be encouraged and provided with an equal platform as that given to other singers. He said, “I am paralysed, but I have never felt like there was anything I could not do.”

Nadia Hussain, who attended the musical evening, said she was “surprised to see how talented these artists are. These singers are no less talented than any others and should be promoted at the national level.”

A PNCA official said that the programme aimed to acknowledge the skills of musicians and support physically challenged artists in making their name in the field of music.

(Additional input from APP)



Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2011.