Latas lookalike had a voice like a nightingale on April 18, 2017Although Suman Kalyanpur’s song “Mere Mehboob Na Ja” was made popular after the film ‘Noor Mahal’ with lyrics by Saba Afghani and music by Jani Babu Qawwal, I got more clung to her songs from music composer Khayyam’s films ‘Shagun’ and ‘Muhabbat Is Ko Kehte Hain’. One of her fans Aarti Mural said that Suman’s […]
Remembering a great sarangi player on April 14, 2017It was in late 1960s that I visited Karachi. Mushtaq Hashmi was already employed as programmes producer at Radio Pakistan there. We recorded folk songs with Transcription Service of Radio Pakistan. I remember Ustad Allah Ditta playing tabla and Ustad Nathu Khan, sarangi in our songs. I could never imagine that such great maestros were […]
Making presence felt among music giants on March 27, 2017I have met Madam Jagjit Kaur a few times during my lifetime, twice in India and once in Pakistan when we were each other’s guests or call it a family. That is not the reason why I am writing this piece on her. It is because she created a niche for herself as a singer […]
Proficiency in ghazal singing on March 25, 2017Listening to the ghazal “Mudetain Ho Gayin Hain Chup Rehte” in PTV’s programme ‘Raat Gayi’ established Ijaz Qaiser’s proficiency as a ghazal singer. With his heavy voice and a tinge of nasal touch, he rendered a fast musical phrase on the word “Mudatein” again and again with ease. My mind goes back to 1970s and […]
The unsung hero on March 19, 2017Listening to Nasir Kazmi’s ghazal “Yaad Aata Hai Roz-o-Shab Koi” in the voice of Aqeel Manzoor with Tahir Iqbal on keyboard and Shabeer Jhari on tabla; a live rendering in PTV’s programme ‘Raat Gaye’ just proved his proficiency when he could render the most difficult of musical phrases easily. The same impact was created when […]
Legendary musicians breakthrough in Bollywood on March 8, 2017When I remember my childhood days, a lovely melody; a duet “Yaad Kiya Dil Ne Kahan Ho Tum”, resounds my ears. This melody was composed by Shankar Jaikishen (SK), rendered by Lata Mangeshkar along with a heavy but melodious male voice, Hemant Kumar. The film was Ommayah Chakarvarti’s ‘Patita’ starring Dev Anand and Usha Kiran, […]
Hindustan Ki Mausiqi by Abdul Halim Sharar on March 5, 2017The All India Music Conference was held in March 1916 in Baroda, India where protagonists of Persian and Arabian music also participated. Not only articles expressing the views of the participants about their respective types and styles of music were read but artists also performed in this conference. The highlight of this conference was the […]
Surkh Dhabbe by Nilofer Iqbal on March 2, 2017It is a dilemma of female writers that they start writing short stories or in any other format of literature with enthusiasm in their early life, after which their marriages or jobs slow down their tempo. It happened to many poets and it has happened to Nilofer Iqbal whose short stories book titled Surkh Dhabbe […]
Sophisticated, cultured and a versatile actor on February 27, 2017I was at the burial of Farooq Zameer on Saturday though he had expired on Thursday. The wait was for one of his sons to arrive from the States. Umar came. Fahad was also there, Mahwish Farooq Zameer told me. He had undergone by-pass surgery sometimes ago. Meanwhile there was a light stroke. He did […]
Daairon Ke Darmeyan by Zafar Mahmood on February 14, 2017Keeping one’s passion alive and at the same time being sincere with one’s profession by carrying out the duties as a civil servant and that too as a bureaucrat is a feat accomplished by Zafar Mahmood. After Taees Din which was written in 1997 when he was made OSD; a blessing in disguise, he wrote […]