The National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) was formed in 2005 to promote formal education in the field of performing arts. Headed by the most well known artists of the country, the academy’s future looked promising and hence much was expected from it.
Today, almost six years down the line, one can see Napa’s theatre graduates doing well on the television screen; however, having said that, one does wonder where Napa’s musical talent disappeared to? Is it because the President and CEO of Napa Zia Mohyeddin is from a theatrical background or is it a result of department mismanagement?
Napa Repertory Theatre (NRT), a society that has been operating since the past few years, proved to be fruitful for aspiring actors in the long run. Then finally, in July last year, a music society Napa Alumni Music Ensemble (Name) was initiated — following in the footsteps of NRT — to address the growing concerns of students of the music department.
Tug of war between teachers and students
Name managed to carry out a handful of performances but most of them featured faculty and popular musicians instead of the graduates. “This is music,” says Ustaad Nafees Ahmed Khan, head of the music department at Napa. “Anything can go wrong in a performance and even the slightest flaw cannot be tolerated,” adds Khan, as justification for his decision for not giving students a chance. “However, we’ve featured graduates in the past when needed,” stresses Khan while adding that students should realise that even sitting and listening to the teachers while they perform is a way of learning.
“I’m a music graduate from Napa and although I’ve performed with the leading producers of the country, Napa has never called me for a performance. The music department has been neglected since its first batch and now they’ve reached the limit of ignorance,” said a graduate from the first batch of Napa’s music society.
However, no matter how bitter the war between the students and the teachers is, one thing is certain: we won’t be watching any more of NRT or Name as the two have merged to form the Society of Music and Repertory Theatre (Smart). Khan confirms that from now on, both departments (theatre and music) will work under Smart. The real reason behind the move is known only to Napa but whether the academy will actually help the students and alumni remains a mystery.
One of the most frequent allegations that are levelled against Khan is his negligence towards students. For instance, sources inside Napa told The Express Tribune that Khan went off on a vacation in Kathmandu on the day of the final exam of the music department. However, when asked, Khan rebutted, “I think it was necessary for me to represent Napa at a Saarc conference. Even Rahat Kazmi is not present during some exams of the theatre department and that is because we have a competent faculty to look over the issues in our absence,” clarifies Khan.
A form of protest
A few months back, Facebook pages with titles ‘Napa leaks’ and ‘Napa CID’ (Criminal Investigation Department) were created and students with anonymous profiles posted a lot of matter against the faculty members. These pages went viral and were circulated to many big names in the music and entertainment industry as well. Although, most of the arguments are very personal and fictitious, the faculty reveals they may take serious action in case of further defamation. “These students aren’t even posting from their original profiles; however, if it crosses the limits, we will even consider serious action against them,” adds Khan.
In the span of seven years Napa has managed to generate more controversies than graduates and the crises of the music department is one of many issues coming to the forefront. The performing arts academy is mainly run by maestros including Mohyeddin, Arshad Mehmood, Kazmi and Khan but the question remains — is having famous artists good enough to run a whole institution?
Published in The Express Tribune, November 4th, 2011.
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Hi I feel this article is dogmatically trying to hold Ustad Nafees culpable for the lack of performances of Napa's music students. It hasn't addressed the issue of the students not being capable of reaching a certain level of musical ability. I was NAPA's 1st ever student and I majored in Solo Tabla. My teachers which included Ustad Nafees were always supportive of my work. I was given numerous occassions to perform at NAPA (I had the honor of performing infront of Mehdi Hasan Khan, Ustad Tari Khan, Naheed Siddiqui- just to name a few). I formed the percussive fusion band TAAL KARISMA - which has done numerous concerts/gigs in Karachi, and Ustad Nafees was always there to support my work. This article mentions "A Student who has Worked with Numerous Producers". I'd like to raise a few question to this person: If he's already getting so much work, why is he so desperate to play at NAPA's forum? If he's already a big name in the market, why didn't he raise this issue with Ustad Nafees on a one to one basis? And thirdly, Why wasn't his name published?
My Conclusion to this article: It may be a good find by the author, but it's addressing one issue. It isn't addressing the issue of the student's being involved in activities. Most of the people who are cribbing are people who haven't achieved anything in music.