Daily Times

LAHORE: An enthusiastic performance by writer and singer Ali Sethi enthralled audience at the much-talked about LACAS Mein Kuch Khaas on Friday.

He opened the evening with Mehdi Hassan’s famous ghazal “Muhabbat Karnay Walay” and proceeded to perform songs and ghazals such as “Dil Jalanay ki Baat Kartay Ho”, “Aah ko Chaiye”, “Haal Aisa Nahin”, “Kithay Nain Na Jorin”, “Piya Re”, “Tere bin nahin lagda dil mera dholna” to a spell-bound audience. Ali Sethi also debuted elements of a new world music sound within his own unique interpretation and closed the evening by singing the famous dhamaal “Lal Meri”.

LACAS Main Kuch Khaas is a non-profit organisation that works to cultivate and support arts and culture in Pakistan. It is the biggest non-government community and cultural centre of Pakistan. Since 2010, Kuch Khaas has served as a participative community space in Islamabad and now in Lahore at LACAS, providing a platform for local artists and creative thinkers to build their skills, express their ideas and showcase their work.

Sethi is a Lahore-born writer and musician. A graduate of Harvard College, he is the author of the acclaimed debut novel The Wish Maker and is a contributor to The New York Times op-ed page.

Sethi is also a classically-trained vocalist. He made his singing debut on Season 8 of ‘Coke Studio’ and was featured on the soundtracks of filmmaker Mira Nair’s ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ and actor and director Sarmad Khoosat’s ‘Manto’. Presently Sethi is making a documentary film and working on his second book.