Chimney swift that finds me be my keeper, silhouette of the cedar/What is that song you sing for the dead” - ‘Death with Dignity’ by Sufjan Stevens

It began as a rumour that the larger-than-life dhol master, Pappu Saeen, was no more. It piqued curiosity, certainly enough to look into the matter. But the report was eventually confirmed in the affirmative. Further investigation into the man revealed that he had been battling liver cancer for at least a year. He passed away this past Sunday in what is now a sad reunion with Overload front-man Farhad Humayun who also passed away this year, in June.

It is a sort of systemic failure – from top to bottom – when a people as a whole remember its artists, not during their lifetime, but when they are dead. Too often, Pakistan celebrates the dead and expects resilience from those closest to the dead. Such expectation of resilience is simply cruel and inhuman. One name that has joined that intolerable cruelty is Pappu Saeen.

To a certain demographic, Pappu Saeen is the man who created a storm on stage with the music group Overload. Since their debut album was instrumental except one song, Pappu Saeen fit in that band perfectly. And once he did, watching him with the band was like experiencing a hypnotic, glorious sound that was enchanting and belligerent; almost physical in the response it created.

Given the fact that he played with Overload for several years didn’t make him inaccessible. While Overload participation made him “cool” to a certain demographic, his continuous return to shrines where he played on Thursday nights was an ecstatic experience for those who witnessed it and it was open to all. With Sufi ideas at the heart, Pappu Saeen was a regular name, in particular, at Baba Shah Jamal shrine where any lost soul could lose their tribulation to the dhamaal Pappu Saeen created if only for a few moments.

Pappu Saeen was much more than his association with one music group. He was a living, breathing embodiment of South Asian performing arts and received Tamgha e Imtiaz by the government of Pakistan. Though he performed internationally from the United States of America to the United Kingdom and other foreign territories, he never let the ferocious intensity of his dhol underwhelm a listener. I personally witnessed what a sight he was during a concert of Overload in its early years. From his garb to his ability to pick up rhythm, he cut an unforgettable image.

In the spirit of Sufism, he also taught this rigorous and disappearing art-form. In addition to playing at shrines, he also played at music and culture festivals. His passing is another tragic tale where millions were required for an illness by an artist who couldn’t come up with the amount himself and was not given the complete and total care he needed, irrespective of cost.

In the end, we’re left with another artist dead, with another case of neglect and indifference that will all too soon be forgotten about. It all makes one wonder if arts and culture have a sense of respect and meaning beyond showing a “positive image” of Pakistan to the West. May Pappu Saeen rest in peace in the heaven above…