What is your idea of perfect happiness?
That my music is flowing effortlessly and reaching its mark, melting hearts and bringing people together.
What is your greatest fear?
Becoming cynical and regretful with age.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Laziness.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Conceitedness.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Whiling away time with friends doing nothing at all.
What is your current state of mind?
Sad and expectant.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
False charity.
On what occasion do you lie?
If I feel it will hurt the other person to know the truth.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
My random patches of baldness.
Which living person do you most despise?
A retired general (not Musharraf). But I only know of him through the media. I have yet to see his human side.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Gentleness.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Wisdom.
When and where were you happiest?
Touring with musician friends in Europe and Kyrgyzstan.
Which talent would you most like to have?
The ability to write and dance.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Carrying emotional burdens longer than necessary.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My state of mind sometimes when I’m singing.
Where would you most like to live?
Anywhere where I’m surrounded by companions and music.
What is your most treasured possession?
Peace of mind.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
When a human being kills or sells off another human being.
If you didn’t do your current job, what would you choose to do?
Write, dance, direct and act.
What is your most marked characteristic?
My voice, I think.
Who is your hero of fiction?
Tom Bombadil from The Lord of the Rings book.
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
I have stopped “identifying” with other people, but I’m still inspired by them.
Who are your heroes in real life?
Pathaney Khan, Fela Kuti, Victor Jara, Baba Bhulleh Shah, Bob Marley,Dostoevsky, Leonard Cohen... the list is endless.
What is your greatest regret?
That I don’t have more fortitude and strength.
How many hours of loadshedding did you experience yesterday?
Yesterday the people at Wapda forgot about us, I think. We had no loadshedding!
Published in The Express Tribune, August 22nd, 2010.
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