Amid the sit-ins: Classical music lovers enjoy concert at Aqs

Ustad Shaukat Manzoor reached the venue late due to roadblocks.

ISLAMABAD: A concert featuring the classical music ensemble of the famous folk singer Ustad Shaukat Manzoor was organised at Aqs on Friday evening.

Owing to the blockage of routes from Rawalpindi, Manzoor’s accompanying instrument players had to wait for an extended period at the Golra Toll Plaza before they could get to the venue and entertain audiences.



Despite the delay, the event attracted a sizable turnover of music enthusiasts of various age groups who sat around roundtables and lawn chairs in the cozy lawn of the venue illuminated by electric candles and fairy lights.

The freshly-painted walls, decorated with truck art complemented the ambience of the soulful folk and classical music evening.

Meanwhile, the maestro’s young son and emerging vocalist, Kamal Shaukat warmed up to the audience with both classical and Bollywood hit songs such as “Mere maula karam ho karam”, “Aoge jab tum saajna”, “Galli mein aaj chand nikla”, and “Mein tenu samjhawan kee”. He also improvised Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s classical song “Sanware tum bin jiya jaye na.”

The accompanying musicians, namely Amir Hussain on sitar and Amanat Ali on tabla and Ijaz Hussain Jajji performed instrumental tunes such as variations of Bhageshwari Raga and the Bollywood classic “Dekha ek khwab tou yeh silsile hue”.

The maestro opened with a powerful rendition of “Anokha ladla” in Darbari Raga, progressing into both classical songs and ghazals such as “Ab ke baar poonam mein”,

Dil mein ik lehr si uthi” and “Phulan de rang kaalay”.

Through a buzz of chatter and music, a group of youngsters cheered enthusiastically at odd intervals, singing along and clapping in rhythm.



Among them, Humayun Zaib, a college student appreciated the performance, saying “It is soothing to hear Ustad Shaukat’s vocals coalesced with the sounds of tabla and sitar. I’ve had a memorable time with my friends.” The guests were also served an elaborate buffet dinner between the instrumental and vocal performances.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st, 2014.