Home > History & Culture > Pakistani Music > KARACHI: Music festival creates the right vibes
 KARACHI: It was an evening suffused with pure melody and pulsating beats. The two-day Tahzeeb Music Festival 2009 kicked off with great fanfare at Hindu Gymkhana on Friday.
The first act began with a delightful performance by a young sarangi-nawaz Zoheb Hasan. The artist, who hails from the Amritsari gharana and lives in Lahore, played raag madh kauns and was appreciated by the discerning audience.
This was followed by Ustad Zafar Ali Khan’s performance. He was accompanied by Zoheb Hasan (sarangi), Khurshid Husain (tabla) and Pervaiz Paras (harmonium). The ustad comes from the renowned Gwaliar gharana and specialises in blending the Punjabi tappa with Sindhi kaafi. He presented raag aiman and told the audience about the importance of khayal gaeki in which the thought (content) plays as important a role as the melody. However, it was his brief thumri that caused many to snap their fingers and tap their feet.
Sitar player Akhlaq Husain had especially flown in from the US to take part in the show. He is the son of the illustrious Imdad Husain and has learnt the sitar from, among others, the incomparable Pandit Ravi Shankar. Akhlaq Husain’s rendition was noteworthy as he looked completely immersed in his act, and played the sitar in an impassioned manner. In the beginning of the piece, his notes created a melancholic atmosphere which then segued into a frenzied progression.
After Akhlaq Husain a known and relatively young vocalist Fahim Mazhar appeared on stage. He learnt his art from a legend like Chhotey Ghulam Ali Khan and has himself taught music at Birmingham University for four years. Fahim is one to watch out for in the future. He has tremendous control over his vocal cords and with a great singing range. His note-perfect performance, using remarkable tonal sustenance, kept even those glued to their seats (or the chandni) who don’t have a fair understanding of classical music.
But the highlight of the evening was Ustad Abul Sattar Tari’s astounding tabla playing. He was accompanied on stage by sitar player Nafis Ahmed Khan. The ustad these days lives in the US and is a pupil of Shaukat Husain. Attired in a bejewelled dress, looking every inch an artist, his rendition was an audio-visual treat. The nimble-fingered Tari’s hands moved at a rate of knots yet his tabla sounded clear and rhythmic, and even played half- and quarter-notes with such mastery that it made the attendees put their hands together every time he finished a routine for a breather. Only if the PA (sound) system had been a tad better, his performance would have been doubly enjoyable.
Another marked feature of Ustad Abdul Sattar Tari’s piece was that intermittently he verbally explained the beat progression (da dinn dinn na, da dinn dinn na, etc) and then played it on his tabla without a decibel of difference. |
