PESHAWAR: Senior Afghan folk artist Barialay Wali has asked music buffs to ensure revival of traditional Pashto music along with quality poetry.

He said that losing classics Pashto music traditions would result in losing connection with cultural heritage. He said that Afghan folk artists and musicians suffered the brunt of game of world players on their soil and the void created would take long to revive.

Barialay Wali told this scribe that the trio of quality poetry, mastery over sound and soulful music composition could guarantee everlasting magical impact on the audience coupled with artists’ deep understanding of substance of poetry, music and super control on voice rhythmical overtones. He said that contribution of Afghan immigrants to Pashto folk music was undeniable.

Caught up with this scribe here on Sunday, Barialay Wali, a senior Afghan singer, delighted upon his music career and future of traditional Pashto music and artists. It is worth mentioning that several Afghan folk singers and musicians migrated to either Quetta or Peshawar following ‘change of government’ in Kabul way back in August 2021 while scores of others took asylum in European countries and Gulf States.

Barialay Wali says quality poetry, mastery over sound and soulful music composition can guarantee everlasting impact

For most Afghan artists, it was the second time that they took refuge in Quetta and Peshawar to carry on the legacy of Pashto music tradition despite unfavourable conditions including extremism and militancy plaguing havoc on arts and culture in the Pashtun belt. A few artists made it to European and Arab countries while the rest are still living under the shadow of terror and uncertainty, thus created a cultural void, and to many researchers, it would long to fill.

Barialay Wali lives on a ray of hope, asking artists to take steps to revive traditional Pashto orchestra alongside thematic poetic numbers. “Everything was not lost, works of classic Pashto bards including Khushal Khan Khattak, Rahman Baba, Malang Jan and many others still lying unsung should be picked up and sung in accompaniment of live Pashto musical instruments,” he added.

He started his music career when he was still in a Nangarhar school in early 80s and received music education from his father Ustad Mohammad Aslam, who himself was a noted folk artist. Later, he learnt basics of Pashto music formally from Dad Mohammad Ulfat Ahang. “My base in the art of classic Pashto ghazal singing came from Ustad Shah Wali and Ustad Khayal Mohammad, the latter being living legend,” he added.

He said that his recent Pashto ghazal written by Rashid Khattak under his own music composition went so viral on social media that Pashtun audience from around the globe showered him with accolades of appreciation, saying traditional light ghazal singing could do wonders if efforts were made to revive it.

The ghazal maestro recalled his close relationship with noted Afghan poets Mustafa Salik, Pir Mohammad Karwan and Baz Muhammad Abid, who inspired him, while poets from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Rashid Khattak, Prof Abaseen, Rahmat Shah Sail and Ajmal Khattak gave him deep insights into Pashto ghazal poetry.

“New diction, fresh thoughts blended in expression of touching emotions linking us to genuine Pashtun cultural roots registered a magic impact on the tasteful audience. Najeeb Amir, a young Afghan poet, has the qualities to correspond to modern youth,” he said.

Barialay Wali said that only serious efforts for revival of traditional Pashto music could help them to survive the invasion of social media.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2024