crowd was charged up by the previous performances and could not quite relate to her ‘music,’ especially as there was a technical hitch which resulted in a short break. Sanam Marvi came next and because she is famous, she had a bit of an attitude and was not as charming as Mai Nimani - no smiles or crowd pleasing chit chat, just instructions to the musicians and on with the show. But her songs were well received by the audience as they are quite popular. By now a few drops of rain threatened to disrupt the programme and some people left, including myself, so I cannot say what happened next but I’m sure the show went on. Crowds of entertainment hungry men, women and children were still pouring in to the venue even at this late hour.
The music mela is a good initiative by FACE and the sponsors and the volunteers do a good job of registering visitors etc: but some aspects need to be improved. For instance, the PNCA parking lot was a mess after the rains and no effort had been made to set it right, with the result that parking space had shrunk and many visitors who did park there had to walk through slush after parking their cars. The seating was not properly arranged - open space is left in front of the stage for people to sit on the floor but the youngsters sitting here stand up to dance, so those who are seated behind them cannot see anything since the stage is not high enough. In the beginning security volunteers are strict about visitors crossing boundaries but soon give up as the crowd gets bigger, though it must be said there was no misbehaviour. A drone camera had the US ambassador’s security in a dither until it was removed, so such matters should be settled beforehand with television channels.
Since such a large number of people attend the mela wouldn’t it be better for the organisers to hold the event in the Sports Stadium or other similar venue, where large screens could be put up and food stalls are more accessible?