PESHAWAR: Noted virtuoso of classical music Hamid Ali Khan enchanted the entertainment-starved Peshawarites with his melodic voice and registered a magical impact on the audience gathered in Nishtar Hall for over three hours.

The city district government conducted ‘ghazal night’ on Saturday evening, attended by a large number of tasteful audience including families and music-buffs. PTI leader Senator Shibli Faraz and Peshawar district nazim Arbab Mohammad Asim Khan were also present on the occasion.

The old Urdu classical melodies Insha Jee Othu, Hoontu Pe Kabhi Mera Naam and Guzar Gian Jo Zamaana stunned the participants. The occasional applause triggered by Mr Khan’s ecstatic rhythmical tunes accompanied by heads whirl of the enchanted audience added a spirit to the classical ghazal night.

Shibli Faraz in his brief talk said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the country at large had suffered a lot due to militancy. He added that that the once culturally rich soil was being fast rendered into a wasteland but government would rekindle the candle of art, culture and literature to fulfil the spiritual aspirations of the people.

He said that provincial government took steps to revive literary and cultural activities and also to improve the condition of artists and literati that so they could serve the cause of national integration through linguistic and cultural diversity.

The audience in the jam-packed Nishtar Hall gave a standing ovation to the classical vocalist when he appeared on the stage with his four-member orchestra.

The classical virtuoso briefly spoke to the audience, saying he had come to Peshawar after six years and found Peshawarites hospitable, avid music buffs and peace-loving.

“Music is the language of soul, so it doesn’t need words. People of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa love music because they understand it and have an intrinsic taste for it. Living very close to nature, aesthetic sense enhances love for melody and rhythm, people who have strong taste for music cannot be terrorists,” said the vocalist.

Mr Khan sang some popular numbers of his elder brother late Ustad Amanat Ali Khan and received rounds of applause from the participants, who remained gluing to their seats. Many young men, who could not find space on chairs in the hall, occupied the stairs to enjoy the velvety voice of the classical singer.

The four-member orchestra included Azam, Khurram, Iqbal Ali and Naveer, who played piano, dholak, tabla and drum, respectively.

Mehnaz Gul, a participant, told this scribe that enjoying a live classical music was a real treat for her and her family. She added that after very long, Peshawarites got the opportunity to listen to a standard music and that too from an internationally known music maestro Hamid Ali Khan, whose sweet melodies transported the audience to ecstasy.

“Being a fan of classical music, I understand and recommend that we should arrange such nice and impressive events for our audience especially for our youngsters so that they could know what real music is,” said Ms Gul.

Maaz Khan, a university student from Dir Upper, said that he and his colleagues enjoyed the ghazal night. He said that he had been learning the basics folk music from Ustad Nazeer Gul alongside his education.

He said that Pashto music didn’t have classical singing tradition but light ghazal trend had been there.

“Today’s evening ghazal session gave me a new idea to work on classical Urdu tunes too as I found a spiritual solace in Mr Khan’s variations. The culture department should arrange more such evenings,” said the student.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2019