KARACHI:
If you happen to be sitting at the Nadia Coffee Shop at the Marriott Hotel and indulging in some sweet and savoury treats with a piping hot cup of chai in the daytime, you will notice a pleasant sound of music.
Tabla player Aijaz Khan and sitar player Asif Mehtab diligently play their gentle classical tunes for guests who are mostly unaware of their presence.
“Eastern music is nothing without the tabla,” says Khan with a sort of bruised pride, adding that he has been playing since he was 15 years old. Mehtab is also a firm believer that classical instruments add value to musical compositions, as he says “Rhythm in music develops overtime — this can only be provided by sitar.”
But despite their eagerness and talent, appreciation for these musicians is seeing a sharp decline, especially since listeners now prefer catchy contemporary numbers. “Listening to classical music should be considered a treat, but sadly, that is no longer the case. It is not appreciated the way it should be,” says Mehtab. Artists like Khan and Mehtab try to earn their livelihood by staying true to their love for classical tunes, but the community faces common setbacks: there is little money and no success.
“We don’t see any future in this particular field,” he continues, adding that he — like most others who complain about the woes of the entertainment industry — holds the government responsible for not supporting an art that was once treasured.
Khan feels that pop singing sensations have further weakened classical, and for that reason, no one cares much for string performers. As he recalls the past, Khan’s face lights up when he speaks of the audience’s appreciation of his music 12 years ago. “People in the audience often made song requests,” he says fondly, adding that they were happy to fulfill their requests. “But we seldom find people appreciating instrumentals now; only a few still recognise its value.”
With no awards and appreciation, young Mehtab feels a stint abroad has its own charm “and is no less than an award itself.”
Without disclosing his salary, Mehtab said that the month of Ramazan was the most difficult time for him, as he was off-duty — and without income — for the entire month. While most others prepared for the festive season with great fervor, Mehtab said him and Khan had to survive on their savings.
No money
Twenty-three-year old Rayana Saleem, a singer at the Sheraton Hotel’s Fanoos Lounge, who performs classical numbers till late in the evening, is also disgruntled. While she has always been passionate about charming the crowd with her vocals, she feels hers is not the ideal profession to pursue. Saleem fears that her singing is not appreciated, but is more reluctant to continue due to the limited income a singer in her position earns. Saleem has to share her monthly earnings — Rs30,000 per month — with two of her band members. To make ends meet, she works as a customer service officer at a shipping firm.
Saleem, who is happy to sing songs requested by members of the audience — which are mostly Nazia Hassan hits or Hadiqa Kiana numbers — hopes to venture off to greener pastures someday, possibly Dubai, where she feels her talent will be appreciated.
At the end, Mehtab leaves us with food for thought. “We, the classical musicians, are a treasure of this country. Embrace us before we are no longer in your midst.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2012.
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COMMENTS (14)
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@omar asks " if cultural & Islamic identities can co-exist in other countries; then why not in ours (these countries too had non-Muslim pasts)?"
There is a big difference between our country and all other countries (with the exception of Israel). All other countries are formed along ethnic/cultural grounds. Ours was formed as a grand experiment on the basis religion (Islam), to create a model pure land that will strike the nonbeliever with awe and make them surrender to Islam. This pretty much means our religion (pure Islam) is our governing principle in all walks of life and not any past ethnic /cultural identity (which is no different from the rest of India) that we intentionally made secondary in forming this country. So, there is no point comparing pakistan with other countries whose reason for existence is more tribal than for a higher cause.
What I have written is pretty simple logic that is obvious to anyone who thinks for a minute. But so called liberals and secularists often don't have the time. Luckily, common sense prevails in Pakistan and the people are closer to my thinking rather than yours.
@waheeda Again you didn't answer my question, if cultural & Islamic identities can co-exist in other countries; then why not in ours (these countries too had non-Muslim pasts)?
And our founding fathers were aiming for attaining majority ruled areas for Muslims in a combined dominion (in simple words, one big combined country with autonomic states have flexibility to safeguard their rights) but unfortunately it never materialized & everyone went their separate ways. This is documented in multiple authentic history books;but not in the drivel they teach us at school.
And as for us being a beacon for the Islamic World, this is another fallacy we live in, we have systematically destroyed ourselves over the years, we refuse to learn from our mistakes and for us, everything wrong is a conspiracy(sazeshis) by the outside world & not our own stupidity. We have no economy, peace, law & order and now our culture is disappearing as well, and I fail to see this as a new culture much less an idea for being a beacon for the rest of the world! And if most of our countrymen think like this then they need to wake-up & see the real picture!
@waheeda
Why not ask Saudi Arabia to sponsor 170 million Pakistani muslims so we all can migrate there...
@Waheeda:
If music is unIslamic thant why is the azaan sung? Why did Allah decide that the call to prayer would be issued using the melody of the human voice?
Also, why are you ignoring the enormous impact that Muslims had on what is now called "North Indian" classical music. Hazrat Amir Khusrao is credited with inventing the sitar and also combing Arab scale types with Indian ones to create many of the ragas we know today. This is a part of our shared cultural history.
Some of you have objected to my comments. To you I ask, if the objective is to embrace our kafir ethnic past culturally, then how are we any different from Indian Muslims who are cultural Indian and religiously Muslim. Why then did our founding fathers make so many sacrifices to partition India and create this pure Islamic nation?
I just want to point out that liberals who write such things in these blogs are out of touch with most Pakistanls who hold my views rather than yours, and are trying to stay true to the founding vision of this great Islamic country meant to be a beacon for the rest of the Islamic world. Now that is the real reason why Indian traditions (like classical music) are fading in this country as we want to create our own new culture. In fact, many learned scholars say that music itself is restricted from being part of Islam and is more of a diversion from the true path.
My question to Waheeda is that all the other non-Arab Muslim countries (Iran, Turkey and Malaysia to name a few) had non-Islamic origins and despite embracing Islam, they still have links to their original culture/roots (which includes music, language and festivals, etc). They are proud of being Muslims and yet take equal amount of pride in the own non-Arab culture. They are strong advocates/living examples that someone can be a good Muslims and still retain their ancestral origins. In simple words "adopting Arab culture is not a must to be a good Muslim"
Another cold hard fact is that these countries are much better contributors to the world community than us and one the reasons for their success along with common sense and hard work (referring especially to Malaysia here) is that they have a distinct identity of their own based on their culture( which includes, music, language and ethnic origin), which they utilize to market their uniqueness in offering different services and products (of their own culture) to the world!
If thinking like @Waheeda's is to prevail then let alone classical music dying out, common sense is also being butchered.
@kabir: "Good article, but I don’t think the picture for classical music in Pakistan as bleak as the author and gp65 make it out to be."
I don't live in Pakistan and do not have any independent opinion about wheher classial music flourishes or not in Pakistan. I was just responding to what is stated in the article.
@Waheeda: Thank you for proving my point.
Hmmm... its very true and sad...... i am one of those few ppl who prefer classics at a resturant.......... but sadly i've only seen "Dum Pokht" (Pearl Continental) harboring them in Lahore......... need more places for them indeed..........
I regret saying this... But how many here know that what we call classical music in Pakistan, afgahnistan, India and Bangladesh really originates with Sama Veda about 3500 years ago. So, this is decidedly unislamic and just more Indian stuff in disguise sneaking into our culture. Much like Bollywood which I also oppose. Actually, qawwali, Sufi music etc also use the same raag, taal, sur base and not really Islamic (only pretend Islamic).
This kind of music is not becoming of the Ummah. As I have said before, we must not look back to our ethnic kafir ancestors. Rather we must look forward to our philosophical and religious models - the Arab civilization of the Prophet (pbuh). And we should develop a brand new Islamic culture that fits our brand new country. Let's find out what the Arabs got by way of music if any and invent more of it with that foundation.
Good article, but I don't think the picture for classical music in Pakistan as bleak as the author and gp65 make it out to be. The All Pakistan Music Conference (APMC) in Lahore holds music programs on the first of every month (mostly of classical music) as well as a yearly conference to which artists from India are often invited. Yes, classical music is in dire shape, but let's not give up hope yet.
As a classically-trained singer myself, I must point out that classical music is difficult for the uninitiated to understand. It requires a knowledge of the tradition and of the rules of the form (unlike pop or rock, where even laypeople can appreciate nice lyrics or a good beat).
gp65 is right to point out that part of the decline of classical music in Pakistan can be attributed to Islamization and the desire to de-emphasize our links to the culture of the Indian subcontinent. Yet, many Pakistanis appreciate ghazal singing, which is very much a part of North Indian (Hindustani) Classical Music and has little to do with Arabs.
The issue of Pakistanis not appreciating vocal or instrumental classical music has nothing to do with the government and everything to do with severing cultural links with India in a bid to be wanna be Arabs.
Classical music in India is thriving and its proponents well respected. There are music teachers in every locality who teach classical music - either vocal or instruments like veena, sitar, tabla, harmonium etc. Government has nothing to do with this.
These people are so loud and annoying. They should simply do away with this imposition of music on guests at hotels.