Daily Times

The credit for holding the All Pakistan Music Conference (APMC) successfully from November 21 to November 25 at the Open Air Theatre of Bagh-e-Jinnah, Lahore goes to APMC Secretary General Ghazala Irfan.

Seeing her untiring efforts and taking her team along with her for the noble cause can easily be termed as the outcome of an iron lady’s determination and hard work. She follows the dream of her late father Hayat Ahmad Khan who was a musicologist. APMC started in 1959 and completed its 58 years of contributions to the advancement of music in 2017. Its aim is to provide patronage to senior artists in all genres of music as well as promote this form of art among youngsters by holding inter-school, inter-collegiate and amateur competitions in the categories of Classical Vocal, Semi Classical Vocal, Ghazal, Folk/Kafi/Geet, Wind Instruments and Percussions. Medals are given on the final day to the winners of Javed Ahmad Qureshi and Ghazanfar Trophy and medals in memory of its founder members for schoolchildren under 10 and above 10 years of age respectively. The Syed Wajid Ali Trophy is reserved for Students Competition among colleges and universities. The Hayat Ahmad Khan Trophy is for academy student. For the last few years, Roshan Ara Begum’s medal was not lifted. This year in 2017, Amanat Ali from Government College University lifted it in the Classical Vocalisation category.

APMC holds a monthly concert every first of every month at Alhamra, followed by a festival of five days during the winter season. Normally, the festival is scheduled in the last week of October but this year due to Muharram, it was held in its traditional avenue, which was the Open Air Theatre at Bagh-e-Jinnah.

We prayed that it rained much before the mega event such that the dense smog engulfing Lahore and other parts of the country would be gone. Allah was kind and the timing was perfect. Traditionally, these sessions used to be all-nighters.

Notable artists were Jaffar Hussain, Naeem Abbas Mehdi, Saeen Mahboob, Nazir Ahmad Faridi, Inayat Beli, Javed Niazi-Babar Niazi brothers and others. Ustad Badaruz Zaman, Ustad Qamaruz Zaman, Rustam Fateh Ali Khan, Muhammad Aizaz Suhail, Ehsan Mahmood Butt, Nadim Riaz Malik, Ustad Muhammad Akhtar Khan, Noor Zehra Kazim, me and some artists from Karachi performed. The 25th night was traditional in following the ritual of prize distribution and performances by senior artists such as Mubarik Ali Khan, Turab Ali and Gul, Shafqat Salamat Ali Khan with his sons, Hamid Ali Khan and Naseeruddin Sami. The evening lasted until 1:30am. I was delighted to see Shafqat Salamat Ali preparing his sons to follow the traditions of Sham Chaurasi Gharana. His late father had taught his sons Sharafat and Shafqat the classical genre. Having said that, the other gharanas need to pay a serious visit to what they are doing about preparing their students/sons/daughters. APMC shall be ready to promote their art like it did on the 22nd during the evening titled Gharano Ki Meeraas, (Musical Heritage of Gharanas). It does so every year. Among 25 participants, Akbar Ali Khan and Chand Khan-Suraj Khan duo left a mark.

Despite the gradual downfall of the standard of music in the subcontinent, APMC has done its best to promote the traditional folk, semi-classical and classical music in vocalisation and instrumental forms. It pays the performers. Ghazala Irfan has a hard working group of subordinates who see that the artists are invited according to the planning. Those left out for one reason or the other are accommodated in the monthly concerts of APMC. The designated staff also ensures that artists are present along with the accompanying instrumentalists much before their entry to the stage such that there is less set-up time. Ustad Parvez Paras who is proficient in the knowledge of raags and other forms of music, prepares the brief announcements as he is also familiar with the artists. He is a permanent advisor/music coordinator to APMC.

To me, attending the last three day sessions made me meet the artists’ fraternity with whom I have grown into a senior artist; some after a long gap like Javed Niazi and Babar Niazi – the folk duo from Islamabad on the 23rd and the other senior artists, the following two days. One must mention the accompanying instrumentalists without who the performances would not have been a success like Muhammad Aslam, Zafar Qadri on harmonium, Ustad Faqir Hussain, Zohaib Hassan, Ali Zafar and Gul Muhammad on sarangi. The latter instrument reminds me of Ustad Nabi Bukhsh Khan, Ustad Ghulam Muhammad and Ustad Nazim Ali Khan who used to accompany artists on sarangi for the past many decades.

Back stage socialising or having a cup of tea together at the adjoining kiosk is a treat.

Published in Daily Times, November 29^th 2017.