Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) is perceived by many as a land which hosts an endless supply of militants, but is once again gaining recognition as a hub for the creative arts. The younger generation of K-P is passionate and concerned about the stereotypes associated with Pakhtuns, which is why musicians like Zeb and Haniya, Sajid and Zeeshan and now Naseer Afridi and Shahab Qamar are using the medium of poetry and music to dismiss preconceived notions.
Telling a tale
Qamar, an engineer in Brisbane, and Afridi, a student in Bahria University, first interacted through Facebook and despite never having been met, managed to release a thought-provoking song on YouTube. The song “Za Pukhtoon Yam”, which translates to “I’m a Pakhtun”, hums promises of change and restoration.
The video begins with a couplet of well-known Pashto poet Ameer Hamza Shinwari which says that, “The enemy brands it as the language of hell, to heaven I will go with Pushto”.
Qamar, the 25-year-old producer, thinks that Pakhtuns are going through a tough phase and labels such as terrorists should only make them work harder for change. “The song reminds us Pakhtuns what our true values are. It asks us to stay put and support each other,” says Qamar. According to the producer, the song sends out a message to everyone outside the Pakhtun community that even Pakhtuns are keen promoters of peace and that they don’t wish to be alienated from the rest of Pakistan. Afridi, who has a small role in Bilal Lashari’s upcoming film Waar, believes that there is a preconceived notion about the Pakhtuns which is untrue. “Everyone likes a joke at a Pathan’s expense. Whether one is buying cheap sunglasses or sending out an SMS joke, a Pathan reference makes everything funnier for some odd reason,” laughs 20-year-old Afridi. “I agree that sometimes these jokes can be hilarious, but at times it hits a sensitive spot.”
Persistance pays off
Naseer and Shahab came to the music scene as a progressive rock band in 2011. Even though their first song “Rise On Your Broken Knees” was not very well received by the listeners, Naseer and Shahab didn’t lose hope and soon came up with the idea of making a Pashto rock song.
Their efforts paid off as the response to “Za Pukhtoon Yam” has been huge with more than 20,000 hits on their official YouTube video. The track managed to strike a chord with non-Pakhtuns as well, which came as a shock to the duo who thought that the song didn’t really have a commercial flavour to it. “The most exciting part is the non-Pakhtuns coming in and expressed their genuine feelings and I think that is our biggest achievement to date,” beams Qamar.
The duo tried to summarise the essence of K-P in their latest song. Afridi, who penned the lyrics explains, “I have tried my best to put the true Pashto identity in a compressed form in these verses. We have had so many peace loving people in our cultural history but sadly we never promote them. People aren’t even aware of the fact that musician Haroon Bacha was threatened by conservative parties that he would be banished from Pakistan if doesn’t stop making music in K-P.”
The duo believes that artists like Ghani Khan, Haroon Bacha and Sardar Ali Takkar are the people who represented the true spirit of Pakhtuns and spread the message of peace and tranquility throughout K-P accordingly.“People like these stalwarts represent us and not terrorists,” Afridi adds.
The message in ‘Za Pukhtoon Yam’
If you hit me with stones
Place a gun to my head
I’ll greet you with a flower in return
I am a Pukhtoon
A hat on my head
Fond of honour
I am the music and dance
I am the tune of love
I am cherished by all
I am a Pukhtoon
I am a couplet of Ghani
Published in The Express Tribune, February 9th, 2012.
Correction: An earlier version of the article said that Qamar belongs to Sydney instead of Brisbane. Also, the word 'couplet' was misspelled as 'couple'. The corrections have been made.
COMMENTS (19)
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@Waqar:
the last thing a pukhtoon can be is secular, pukhtoons were, are and never will be extremists, but if you attack them they will always take revenge, this article and the song is completely missing the pukhtoon dynasty and it is an effort by who ever to try and bring a change in the pukhtoons which is not possible, their idealogy and traditions will remain the same regardless of how many songs you write or if the whole world start dancing around them with guitars, a true pukhtoon will always remain the same may it be afghanistan, pakistan or anywhere else in the world.
@Imran Khan:
i dont remember any pukhtoon defended his land from any foreign aggressor with a guitar, i wonder why US and NATO forces dont spread thier message with a guitar by sending Jon Bon Jovi . I wonder why they send drones and bomb every one including the kids?? please dont spoil those who are still capable of fighting and defending themselves, please call your self liberal pukhtoons of new era or something but leave the old traditional pukhtoon alone and dont try and upgrade them with your version of pukhtoonwali.
Great song,Thanks ''Express Tribune'' for reporting this News,Hats Off... Pukhtunks are liberal and secular minded,they need better, modern Education. Pakhtuns are not fanatic Muslims. They are conservative but in tribal sense not in religious sense. All the retrogressive religious influences like Militant Islam, Political Islam, and Terrorist Islam have been injected into Pashtun body-socials from across the Attock. Pashtuns are broad-minded tolerant people and their social system is founded on secular credentials.
Correction* I moved to Australia just 2 years ago.
The more we appreciate, the lesser it is. We need to encourage these youngsters. Instead of holding a Kalashnikov they have a Guitar. Instead of using Bullets, they have used their Pen to reflect that glass is half full too !!!!
did you mean couplet of Ghani? Not sure what couple of Ghani implies.
Nice song really amazing..
@Bakir: read about Bacha Khan, especially if you are not in "exile"
@ET: great article, just a correction, the last line should read "I am a couplet of Ghani Khan" not couple.
The author has completely contradicted the tradition of true pukhtoons, "you hit me with a stone, put a gun to head and i will bring flowers to you" i suggest you know pukhtoons before you go make songs about them. dude stop living in self imposed exile, come back and live on the soil you claim to belong to then i will listen to your song.
i wonder the change is coming from pukhtoons who have left the region, is it the west influencing these young talented group of musicians or the local pukhtoons facing suicidal bombings share the same feelings of joy and serenity in thier lives as well??
I'm also a pukhtoon...but do we really have to rub it in others' faces? Get over yourselves :P
wow this song is so so cool :D . love the theme ................. bring them on coke studio ....
Proud to be a Pukhtana... but even prouder to be Pakistani!!
They should give this the best song of the year from the earliest, there are very very few Pukhtoons in cokestudio, we want them to be in the coming seasons. Respect all the way.
Nice Song! A song depicts real Pukhtoon!
This is the best song truly depicting the the pushton tribe. awesome
Thank you for the article, The Express Tribune. We are glad that our voice was heard and recognized. Just a minor correction, I live in Brisbane (not Sydney). best regards, Shahab Qamar (Naseer & Shahab)