Daily Times

LAHORE: Sarangi School will open after Eidul Fitr inside the Lohari Gate by the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA), Daily Times learnt on Thursday.

The school will provide a platform for learning the dying music instruments’ playing along with violin, dholak, tabla and singing for the music lovers from the Walled City and other areas of Lahore. A sarangi player Israr Nabi Buksh , resident of Walled City Lahore, will be conducting the classes in this school. He is a solo Sarangi Nawaz who knows the art of classical ragas, thumri, dadra, background music, heer Waris Shah, folk music and other types of music. Sources informed Daily Times that Lohari Gate was illegally occupied by some locals who were living inside the gate’s rooms until 2015 and later WCLA got it vacated from them and conserved the gate building.

Muhammad Javed a resident of Walled City said, “Many tourists and students visit Lohari Gate area as it has rich architecture and havelis. I think the locals have no objection on this music school as it is in the interest for promoting the dying culture of instrument playing and it will help the people of Lahore to take guidance from the trained musicians of Walled City.”

Israr Nabi Buksh will also be the incharge of the school. “I took a proposal to WCLA for establishing a school for teaching sarangi as it is a dying art now and most of the people are unfamiliar with this instrument. They were kind to accept the proposal and initiated this concept and now we have registered more than 20 students and the classes will commence after Eid,” he said, adding that sarangi was his passion as he was the son of sarangi player Ustad Nabi Baksh who had Pakistan’s pride of performance award and said that their gharana ghajjar was famous for the art of sarangi playing and was known internationally. He said that three month courses for vocals, sarangi, violin, tabla and dholak including theory and practical would be held at the school and a complete syllabus has been designed for the students. Talking about the music instrument sarangi, he said, “Sarangi is a short necked string instrument which originated in the subcontinent and is used in classical music. Sarangi is a Persian word that means three melody strings but commonly people consider its meaning as an instrument of a 100 colours, signifying its flexibility to produce many tunes. The most important feature of this instrument is that it is carved out of a single piece of wood.”

He added that the instrument was famous during the Mughal era but at present, the younger generation who has moved to western musical instruments does not know much about it.

“Lack of promotion and awareness among the budding musicians has resulted in the downfall of the traditional music players and instrument makers. People like us lack publicity tactics and that is why our art is dying. I am hopeful that with this school, some awareness among the new generation will be created,” Israr said.

WCLA Media & Marketing Deputy Director Tania Qureshi said that WCLA would be using social media for promoting and publicising the school and courses so that it goes viral and the new generation is attracted towards the heritage and culture of the Walled City and this would also help in reviving the dying art of sarangi.

WCLA Marketing Director Asif Zaheer said that it was an initiative to help the residents of the Walled City by providing them platforms for showcasing and promoting their art.

“We will also plan other cultural activities inside this gate as it is a huge building and a historic landmark,” Asif Zaheer said.

Published in Daily Times, June 1^st 2018.