Music has long been credited with bridging divides and a recent article published in Al Jazeera America explores just that by highlighting the transformation of the Mekaal Hasan Band over the course of time. From being a solely Pakistani rock-fusion band with Javed Bashir on the vocals, it changed face to become a unique group of Pakistani and Indian artists connected by nothing but a true love for music.
“Today we have a Bengali Hindu, Sharmistha Chatterjee, singing Sufi/Qawwali lyrics. My rhythm section happens to be two Indian Catholic jazz musicians from Bombay, and the inestimable Muhammad Ahsan Papu remains on flute. Such a lineup forces people to see — hear — what unites rather than just divides us,” Hasan said in the interview.
The article, which covers the significance of music in war-torn regions including Afghanistan and Syria, builds on Fela Kuti’s notion of music being a weapon for condemning social injustices. However Mekaal disagrees on the basis that it’s not music’s primary function. “On the one hand, Fela understood what we now realize — musicians can’t wait, we have to take the lead. But Fela was working in a different situation. He didn’t have to deal with suicide bombers and the kind of difficult relationship that India and Pakistan have. We need to focus on collaboration more than competition, a message we take on the road from Bombay to Boston,” he added.
While Bollywood has seen a number of collaborations between Indian composers and Pakistani singers, MHB is one of the strongest driving forces connecting the two nations in the non-film music industry.