Showcase of diverse talent

While India has boundless talent, there is no doubt that for certain kind of sound and melody, it has look to Pakistan

The Pakistani Coke Studio is way ahead of its Indian counterpart. I say this as an Indian. And now, season eight appears to be no exception. The incredibly accomplished Rohail Hyatt isn’t around but producers Faisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsood of Strings have outdone themselves. Sohni Dharti Allah Rakhe was a fine showcase of diverse Pakistani talent (to be seen in this season) — ranging from Anwar Maqsood to Ali Zafar, soulfully uniting on the theme of nationalism.

I caught a couple of performances from the first episode. Atif Aslam affirmed his vocal mettle in the Sabri brothers qawwali, Tajdar-e-Haram — arguably the singer’s best rendition in a long time. I didn’t understand a word of Aankarli Pharookai but Karam Abbas’s fusion with the charismatic Manganiyar singer, Mai Dhai, compelled me to break into cartwheels. As for the Lahori songster Nabeel Shaukat Ali, who won the Indian music show “Sur Kshetra”, he executed an impeccable rendition of Bewajah, penned by the prolific Babar Shakeel Hashmi. Bengali vocalist Sharmistha Chatterjee hit it out of the park with an exceedingly difficult number, Sayon by the Mekaal Hasan Band.

While India has boundless music talent, there is no doubt that for a certain kind of sound and melody, it has to look up to Pakistan. 

Tailpieces

1) The bane of living in an unforgiving digital era: you don’t get to hush up bloopers. There are scores of leaked videos featuring Pakistani newscasters caught off guard — biting their nails, summoning make-up artists, scratching a body part, unknowingly revealing a bra strap. The latest to join this not-so-esteemed brigade is a 20-something Mehreen Sibtain. After pronouncing ‘London’ as something which rhymes with a male reproductive organ, she saw her embarrassing boo-boo go viral. Her reaction was as priceless as her lame cover-up. I hope the young lady has taken a sabbatical. It will be a while before viewers take her seriously as a newscaster.

2) Few in India are mourning the passing away of the hardliner, father of the Taliban, Hamid Gul.

3) Oh Maa, India’s obsession with its largely farcical godlike figures has reached a new level. These days, Radhe Maa is our national preoccupation. A self-proclaimed (and unintentionally funny) god-woman, she roams around wearing ghostly make-up, blood-red lipstick and a blunt trishul, claiming that she is “pure and pies” (pious). On being quizzed about the leaked pictures of her skintight top and ultra-mini skirt, she said she wore them at the behest of her devotees. It’s time one of them gave her a bikini. Oh wait, let me close my eyes first!

4) I’ve known my gorgeous friend Twinkle Khanna for 15 years. A lot has changed in her life. She has briskly graduated from being an admittedly bad actress to a loyal star wife to a doting mother. She dabbles with home interiors occasionally but what remains intact is her arsenal of humour, sardonic wit and impeccable timing. In fact, all of these have gotten better with age, or so she discovered herself on turning columnist for two Indian publications. On Twitter, she doesn’t call herself Mrs Funnybones for nothing. Politically incorrect at times, her take on in vogue issues and people is laced with delicious cheekiness. Tina (as we fondly call her), recently, entered a new phase as an author. Her maiden book was launched in Mumbai on August 18 by mother Dimple Kapadia, husband Akshay Kumar and friends Karan Johar and Aamir Khan. A rather unusual guest at the launch was Tina’s gynecologist, Dr Sheriyar. Pat came Funnybones’ spiky retort, “He had to dilate issues!” Touche.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20^th,  2015.

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