ISLAMABAD: A marvellous yet shivering evening of December haunted the minds of drowsily blinking eyes dazzling on delight-lit faces of adolescents slumped on chairs well-knit to each other, in the auditorium of the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA), the apex body for art and artists in the country, in a somewhat serene looking jilted milieu of twists and turns of Islamabad. Awestruck eyes rolling in spasms of juvenile whispering, riveted on thrill producing feet and commotion, triggering voices in the hearts within, looking appalled over every rising and falling wave of music by the Danish musical group “Live Strings” along with the Pakistani musical groups. Ajoka Theatre’s popular play “Bala King” was staged to highlight the dichotomy between profession and practice by the dignitaries in every swath of boundless ambit ranging from politics, social life and land grabbing tycoons, who were seen plunged into despotic acts of loot and plunder belying their words. What transported the hearts into the epicentre of blinking lights and blazing deep inside almond eyes was a staggering fusion of Danish and Pakistani music. The event was a joint venture and in the soft spoken term an ‘adventure’ organised by the Royal Danish Embassy and the Danish Centre for Development through their Cultural and Development Programme. The exhibition was followed by musical performances of local musicians of Ajoka, CYAAD, Shirkatgah and Hashoo Foundation and also a live performance of Danish musicians ‘Live Strings’ who played pieces from the classical repertoire, including ‘Tango Jalousie’ as well as their own compositions. The music groups closed the musical evening by all playing together for an enthusiastic audience in the jampacked PNCA Auditorium, transcending national, political and ethnic boundaries. The event was visited by a large number of people from all walks of life. The “Live Strings” musical group performed in Danish, English and also in fusion with Pakistani Pushto and Gilgit-Baltistan languages and lastly with the Ajoka Theatre’s Qawwal group. In Pushto-Danish, fusion strings performed on “Wa Kina Jana” and other songs. But, when they performed with the Qawwal group Abida Parveen’s famous song “Yad Gharoli” and Ustad Nusrat Faeh Ali Khan’s “Sasoon Ki Mala”, there was a seemingly unending applause. The Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan, Ole Thonke, speaking on the occasion appreciated the performances of all the musical groups and said that participating in this event was a fantastic experience and through this programme achieved a lot of public diplomacy, which cannot be achieved through formal diplomacy. It extended the people to people of contacts between Denmark and Pakistan. He said that culture enlightened, enriched and created a feeling of a common identity and understanding and helped create a more humane world by connecting people from across different countries and cultures. He stressed on the importance of working together to build a free and fair world, where everyone enjoyed equal rights. He said that the fusion of Danish and Pakistani music created more connection between the two countries. The music, art and culture would bring people from different walks of life together. The Programme Manager of CKU, Ole Ramsing, said music, art and culture created tolerance in the society. He said that Pakistan had a long and proud cultural tradition, but the privilege to partake in cultural activities was unevenly distributed. The event closed with a full performance of Ajoka Theatre’s popular play “Bala King”, adapted by Shahid Nadeem in Punjabi and directed by Madeeha Gauhar. Written in the 1940s, ‘Arturo Ui’ is replaced as “Bala King”, an unemployed “Pehalwan” (Grappler) gang leader, who later decided to leave the Taxali Gate Adda and try his luck in the Badami Bagh world of inter-city road transport. The political satire highlighted corruption, violence, blackmail and the decay of the society. Speaking at the event Shahid Nadeem said that the play was relevant to current Pakistani politics which were revolving around corruption, nepotism and accusations. It depicted the real picture of Pakistani society. The musical and theatre performances were liked very much by the audience and the hall of the PNCA remained packed and some people were even sitting on the stairs.