Two maestros and a rock star!

Karachi

Saturday night brought music maestros Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan to Karachi together and they drew out fans in droves. While these two would have been enough, the evening offered more in the music of currently hot property, Umair Jaswal as well.

The event was organized by Haier Electronics in association with S4 Solutions and what’s most unprecedented was the presence of DG ISPR Major General Asim Bajwa and DG Rangers Sindh Major General Bilal Akbar. TitledJashan-e-Pakistan, the concert connoted Karachi’s return to normalcy after the recent crackdowns. Let’s hope the precedent becomes a norm now.

Moving on to the concert, the venue was jam-packed considering two living legends were performing after a long time, and that too, live. Ali Safina stepped in as emcee of the event and he kept the audience engaged throughout the performances as well as the impressive display of fireworks. However, the host erred big time when he introduced Umair Jaswal (formerly of Qayas band) as “South Asia’s biggest rockstar”; he could have just referred to him as one of Pakistan’s leading rock stars. UJ was the first to perform and kept the audience busy with his hit numbers,‘Charkha Nolakha’and‘Sheherzade’. He sang his own version of‘Dil Dil Pakistan’and‘Jazba Junoon’as well. However, his closing number – the Coke Studio specialSammi Meri Waar –drove the crowd wild and his signature moves were enough to make his fans go hysterical.

Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan took to stage for almost an hour, singing his memorable hits, which was a treat to witness. From‘Teri Jhuki Nazar’to‘Mitwa’,‘Bin Tere’to ‘Aankhon Kay Saagar’, ‘Tere Naina’to‘Ankhiyaan’,‘Dildara’ to‘Kheriyan De Naal’, he delivered hit after hit and mesmerized the crowd with his magical voice. He stole the show with his most popular number‘Khamaaj’,which remains a crowd favorite despite being a decade old. Shafqat even rendered his father Amanat Ali Khan’s classic patriotic number‘Aaye Watan Pyare Watan’that tapped into every patriot present. Last but not the least, the former lead singer of Fuzon kept the crowd engaged by singing Farida Khanum’s version of‘Aaj Janay Ki Zid Na Karo’(the originalgeetwas sung by Habib Wali Mohammad for Sohail Rana who considers it the only version).

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was the last performer of the night and what a performance it was! He came, he sang and he conquered with his ghazals, film songs and qawwalis of his uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.‘Allah Hoo’sent the audience in a trance;‘Dam Mast Qalander’further proved why he is the reigning master of ceremonies; the crowd went berserk on‘Ankhiyan Udeek Diyaaan’and‘Tumhain Dil Lagi Bhool Jani Paregi’. ‘Main Tainu Samjhawan’set the mood for his other film hits such as‘Tere Mast Mast Do Nain’, ‘Teri Meri’and‘Mann Ki Lagan’. Even though the concert ended way past midnight, many stayed back to experience the Ustaad in action. And he kept them entertained with his private numbers as well, most notably‘Zaroori Tha’ and ‘Habibi’to name a few.

Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan took his segment a notch up by interacting with the crowd.

It was nice to see the music lovers in Karachi gather at one place and let their guard down. Spotted in the audience was Boom Boom Shahid Afridi, captain of the Pakistan T20 Cricket team, who even went on stage to announce that ‘Karachi is Alive’ in his own words. Hum TV’s CEO Sultana Siddiqui and her son Duraid were also present at the occasion and one could see Aashir Azeem (ofDhuaanfame), famed singer Tina Sani as well as Waqar Zaka in the audience.

prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Omair Alavi is a freelance journalist and can be contacted atomair78gmail.com