 |
| |
WEEKLY
SECTIONS |
 |
|
 |
| Bloomfield Hall School holds ‘Sufi Music Night’ |
|
|
|
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
by Ishrat Hyatt
Islamabad
Celebrating 25 years of its existence in the field of education, Bloomfield Hall School organised a programme that was different and much appreciated — a Sufi Music Night, featuring artistes Riaz Qadir and Saeen Khawar and their respective groups.
The function was held at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) auditorium in collaboration with Capital Development Authority (CDA). CDA Chairman Tariq Mehmood was the chief guest on the occasion while the anchorperson was a confident young lady from the school.
Addressing the audience, Principal of the Islamabad school Shazia Javed apologised for the delay in starting the programme, though the school has a reputation for being punctual but it was unavoidable, as the musicians were held up because of the lawyers’ protest rally near the venue.
Briefly tracing the history of the school and its achievements in the field of education with 40 branches all over Pakistan, she said they decided to dedicate the evening to peace, and Sufi music with its universal appeal was the epitome of the message they wanted to give. She concluded by thanking the chief guest, his organisation and all other persons, including the audience, who had made the occasion possible and asked them to enjoy the evening.
The chief guest began his speech in English, and then switched to Urdu, saying it would not be in the fitness of things to ignore the national language when an important aspect of the country’s culture is being showcased. He recounted a couple of personal anecdotes to stress his point about Sufism and added that it was Sufi scholars of the likes of Nizamuddin Aulia, Bulleh Shah, etc, who were a link in the chain of poetry that gave importance to peace and tranquility as a way of life. He then requested the audience to give the artistes a standing ovation, which it did.
While Riaz Qadir’s performance was good and set the pace, it was somewhat on the ‘modern’ side — long coat, mike in hand and walking around the stage with a ‘sufi’ group going through the gestures of traditional dervishes, something which they will have to learn to do correctly if the act is to be perfected — right hand outstretched with the palm facing upward and the left arm leaning downwards with the palm facing the earth.
The traditional performance by Saeen Khawar was the cherry on the cake, so to say and he had the audience captivated by his remarks and his vocal rendering of sufi poetry — about half a dozen favourites like, ‘mera ishq nachiya,’ ‘lal Shahbaz Qalander’ and others. He has developed showbiz skills and carried the audience along, asking them to clap to the beat and join in the recital. In return, he received heartfelt applause, while the younger people in the audience appreciated his performance with whistles.
It was an enjoyable evening and the school administration deserves appreciation for celebrating their success with a cultural show of this nature. Unfortunately, the programme ended in an abrupt manner with the sound speaker system being switched off while Saeen Khawar was still singing his concluding verse. Even the chief guest finished his speech with no light on the podium. Whoever ordered this switching off could have waited just a few minutes and avoided annoying some members of the audience, who felt that to cut off an artiste in this manner was insensitive. As for the bottles of water and plates of potato crisps in front of the chief guest’s seat, it was wondered who organised them, as it was a clear breach of the rules, which say no food and drink are allowed in the auditorium. VIP culture!
|
|
|
| Back
| Send
this story to Friend | Print
Version |
|
|
|
ISSN 1563-9479 
