Shazia Manzoor applies her talents to charity

Shazia Mansoor performs at a musical event, a fundraiser held for the benefit of flood victims.

BHURBAN: A hotel in Bhurban organised a musical event as a fundraiser for the flood victims. The vocalist of the evening was famous Pakistani playback singer Shazia Manzoor who volunteered to sing for the rehabilitation of the flood affected people. She has composed a song for them titled Jeena to Hay, meaning “We have to live”.

The idea of this song was to give people hope to live and live with dignity through all hardships. She began her performance with this song and moved the audience to tears. During her performance, she also paid tribute to Madam Noor Jehan and the ailing Reshma. She requested the audience to pray for the latter’s early recovery. She then sang Chandni Ratain followed by Chori Chori.

The mood of the evening suddenly picked up as she switched over to her Panjabi hits like Chan Mere Makhna, Dhol Mahiya and Mahi Avega. Her songs were equally reciprocated by the audience’s applauses.

Some of them got so mesmerised that they came to the stage and started dancing to her tunes.

Shazia’s musicians gave the dancers ample room to dance their hearts out and encouraged them with beats of varying speed and rythm.

Shazia Manzoor is due to perform in Lahore and Karach as well. She said she would use all her abilities for the betterment of her brothers and sisters who lost their homes and shelter.

Manzoor took her music lessons from the Late Ustad Feroz of Gowalioar Gharana. Ustad Feroz, after listening to her, predicted that one day she would be the voice of Pakistan, which she proved in a very short span of time. He taught her all the delicacies, trills and skills that are required for playback singing.

She believes in purity and not in compromise and that is why practices regularly.

She said, “I would never take the aid of computers, which has become very common. I believe in singing live, it is the true form of the art.”

Shazia respects all the vocalists of the past, but has special regard for Mohammad Rafi. She said, “If someone wants to learn the art of playback singing, Mohammad Rafi is the man to listen to.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2010.