Gun Geyaan is a compilation of songs by poet Ali Akbar Abbas on May 16, 2019Dedicated to the music composers, artists and instrumentalists of Pakistan Television (PTV) and Radio Pakistan who tug at our heartstrings through their melodious music despite their meagre means, the book Gun Geyaan comprises geets by seasoned poet Ali Akbar Abbas. He is a senior poet whose seven books have been published already namely Bar Aab-e-Neel, […]
Timeless tracks that Zubaida Khanum gifted to the industry on May 13, 2019Singer Zubaida Khanum touched the heights of popularity through Pakistani films in the 1950s and the ’60s which was considered the golden era of Pakistani film music. After a brief love affair with acting, Zubaida Khanum shifted towards playback singing. She was a natural choice for all the composers as playback singer just as Noor […]
Maqsood Ilahi Shaikh’s new book is a compilation of ‘pop stories’ on May 10, 2019Maqsood Ilahi Shaikh from Bradford is considered as the inventor of Pop Kahani (a small story); a new domain of literature; the word ‘pop’ being borrowed from the word pop music or from the word popular of which pop is the abbreviation. The first chapter of his book Samunder Upar Jhaag Ander Moti (Surf above […]
Check Mate — the abridged novel version of Urdu play ‘Bisaat’ on May 3, 2019Abridged version of a four-act play in Urdu language titled ‘Bisaat’ (chess board) translated in English by the author Basir Sultan Kazmi with poet Simon Fletcher, titled “Check Mate” has been published by Afzaal Ahmad of Sang-e-Meel Publications, Lahore recently. Interestingly this edition also includes a transliteration in Roman script for the consumption of those […]
‘Akhri Show’ revived to depict the dying culture of old cinemas on April 28, 2019Many people connected with music know that I go for music practice in a hired room in the Metropole Cinema, Lahore. This cinema does not have latest machinery and has an old movie shown every Friday for a week. The room in the backyard was hired by the duo Ustad Ghulam Shabir Khan and Ustad […]
Kamran Nazir’s poetry book speaks of inner sorrow on April 25, 2019In order to judge a man’s personality, it is generally quoted that a man is known by the company he keeps. Similarly, this reviewer feels that a student is known by the teacher he has studied from. Kamran Nazir in his poetry book Khwab Ke Dukh has dedicated his book to his late mentor Khalid […]
A beautiful book of essays and sketches on April 16, 2019Reading the essay ‘Muhammad Saleemur Rehman – Aik Tuaraf’ in Saleemur Rehman’s book Chand Muta’ale Chand Mushahede reminds me of the legal aspects of mistaken identity due to similarity in names. It is a story of similarity of names. The writer then was forced to add the word Professor with his name to distinguish him […]
Love is a strong component of Hafeez Tahir’s poetry on April 4, 2019Hafeez Tahir, a mass media expert who spent his lifetime in television productions and is now teaching film and media to Punjab University students, is obsessed with his imaginary eighth colour of light. I recall his poetry book Aathwan Rang decades ago when he had joined PTV as programmes producer. This innovative name of the […]
Remembering the subcontinent’s most iconic female composers — Part II on March 24, 2019On Shamim Nazli’s request, music composer Baba Ghulam Ahmed Chishti recorded two songs in Shamim Nasim’s voice for the Punjabi film ‘Aabroo’. However, the film flopped. Despite the fact that her elder sister got her a break in films, it was Anwar Kamal Pasha who persuaded Nasim to try her luck by singing for Pakistani […]
Remembering some of the most iconic female music composers of the subcontinent on March 22, 2019Lahore: It was reported in Indian media in 2018, that there were more of them. They claim, “Whether it is the groovy and thumping beats of Hard Hard or the intense Har Har Gange sung by Arijit Singh, Batti Gul Metre Chalu’s music is grabbing attention. One half of the composer duo of these tracks […]