Islamabad A fund-raising event Saturday evening saw the Pakistan-China Friendship Hall resounding to the sound of Sufi music, much to the enjoyment of those who attended. Organised by Developments in Literacy (DIL), the concert featured Sufi singer Asrar and his band and was attended by friends and supporters of the NGO as well as about 50 excited but well behaved children from the SOS Children's Village, Islamabad, kind courtesy some generous donors. MC for the evening was Sofia Shahid, while the hardworking committee members of the Islamabad chapter were present in full force to oversee the event. After a little delay because of the ever present traffic jams in the city, the programme began with Sofia, speaking in Urdu - a pleasant surprise - apologising for the late start and informing what DIL is all about, interspersing her talk with a play on the word Dil (which means heart in Urdu). She also introduced Asrar for the sake of those who were not familiar with the singer. Asrar had a good rapport with the audience, especially the younger lot who appeared quite familiar with his songs and kept on requesting one or the other or even asking for a repeat. He began with 'Allah hi deyga Maula hi deyga' then went on to sing numbers like the very popular, 'Ishq Hawaa Mein' and others not so well known. Clapping; cat calling; whistles and cheers were the order of the day and eventually some young men could not help themselves and danced to a Pashto song. It was a pleasant way to spend an evening - the only regrettable fact being that the hall was not full - some ticket holders failed to show up and not much publicity is given to concerts for obvious reasons. In between numbers the artiste introduced his band members - Musa; Irfan; Nadeem Abbas; Paul and Steve. After ninety minutes or so and fulfilling a couple of repeat requests, the show came to an end with president of the committee, Zeenat Ayesha giving a vote of thanks to the musicians and supporters of DIL. DIL, an NGO with worldwide branches who support education in Pakistan, works with the vision that no child in the country, no matter how poor or underprivileged, should be denied access to quality education. All should have equal opportunity to reach their full potential and contribute toward the socio-economic betterment of their communities. It educates and empowers underprivileged students, especially girls, by operating student-centred model schools; and provides high-quality professional development to teachers and principals. DIL's curriculum provides a comprehensive package of localised materials to equip students with the skills needed to succeed in today's interconnected world as responsible life-long learners. Information is presented and explained in ways to support students' ability to think critically, creatively and collaboratively. DIL has a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator and is ranked among the top 6% of charities in North America that have maintained that rating for four consecutive years. DIL takes great pride in its school and program monitoring system and has always maintained complete financial transparency across Pakistan. Asrar is a singer, songwriter and music producer. From an early age he was inspired by Sufi music and began writing his own songs. He received training from Ustad Sultan Ahmed Khan in Hyderabad and moved to Lahore in 2007 where he participated and stood first in the Pakistan Musical Conference. In 2011 he released his debut single 'Nai Saiyyo;' was part of Coke Studio in 2014 and made his Bollywood debut in 2015 with a song for the film 'Phantom.'
