Pakistan’s oozing musical talent

That Pakistan’s young people are imbued with a store of musical talent would go without saying , especially after having watched the performance of two promising young vocalists at the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) on Friday evening.

The evening started off with Raag  Abhogi  rendered in the most masterly of fashion by Intizar Hussain. The number lasted exactly 35 minutes, but Intizar’s deep mellifluous voice showed no signs of wilting. He sang with utmost ease and transited from the lowest to the highest notes, lowest to the highest pitch with perfect ease. 

In fact, his vocal rendition was a tribute to his extra strong pair of lungs. As  it is in classical music, cadences play a key role and his were so controlled. He held the audience absolutely spellbound.

His second rendition was no less remarkable. He sang with the same gusto with absolutely no signs of his voice wilting under pressure of exhaustion. The number he rendered was a Sindhi Kaafi. That’s what this particular brand of tune is known as even though the words were Seraiki.

Next was a young visitor from Lahore, Akbar Ali. He may have been young but his voice was really seasoned. It seemed to come to him so naturally. He rendered four numbers, Raag Bagheshri, Raag Shudh Sarang, Thumri Bhairvi, and a Thumri composed by Ustad Barhe Ghulam Ali Khan, Yaad Piya Ki Aye.  All the four numbers were meticulously rendered. His voice seemed to ooze the freshness and energy of youth.

Like Intizar Hussain before him, his rendition, Raag Bagheshri, also lasted over half an hour.

While the performances by the two were just flawless, the support provided these vocalists by the three instrumentalists had a pivotal role to play. The astute  performance of Ustad Basher Khan on the Tabla was really astute, really adept. His deft finger work went a long way to make the performance flawless.

Idrees Hussain on the harmonium and Akhtar Hussain Khan on the Sarangi did an equally splendid job.

The National Academy of Performing Arts gets all the credit for spotting this hidden musical talent countrywide and bringing it into public view.