ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) hosted a musical event Sunday night in which dervishes from Turkey and artists from Pakistan performed which made for a colourful celebration of the 70th Independence Day.

The Istanbul Historical Turkish Music Ensemble came from Istanbul especially to participate in Independence Day celebrations and provided people with an opportunity to experience this aspect of Turkish culture.

The grand music show is part of a month-long series of events the PNCA is hosting to celebrate Independence Day.

The programme was divided in two parts. During the first 30 minutes, the Turkish group presented a naat, reed flute improvisations, peshrev, the sultan veled cycle, four selams and a prayer.

The performance by the Turkish group was an unusual experience. It was tranquil, peaceful and fulfilling.

The audience joined in when the group was singing the naat which was followed by the reed flute performance.

Peshrev is an instrumental performance which consisted of a 28 beat devrikebir rhythmic pattern. With the first beat of the peshrev, the sheikh and dancers bow, strike the floor with their hands and rise to their feet signifying how everything comes into being following Allah’s command and at the same time, also represents the dead rising from the grave.

During the last performance, ‘prayer’, the whirling dervishes leave their dance as soon as recitations from the Quran start and listen to the recitations.

The ensemble was started in 1991 by Turkey’s Ministry of Culture in order to present the original style and performance characteristics of classical Turkish music, especially Sufi music of Tasavvuf and military music or Mehter, which are one of the outstanding values of Turkish culture.

The second part of the program included colourful performances by Pakistani artists who presented music from across the country. The singers included Shaukat Ali, Ghulam Abbas, Akhtar Channal Zahri from Balochistan, the Zafar Ali group from KP, Bano Rehman from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gulshan Jehan, Usman Ali Raees and the Raga Boys who presented national and local songs.

The 16-member National Performing Arts Group also presented an enthralling performance of ‘Pakistan Banana Hai’.

PNCA Director General Syed Jamal Shah thanked the Turkish ensemble and said both countries enjoy a deep, friendly and brotherly relation. He said both countries can learn from one another via exchanges of art, culture and joint ventures.

Turkish Ambassador S. Babür Girgin thanked Pakistan for its support and said there are many fields in which both countries can cooperate to boost ties.

“We are very pleased to contribute to the 70th Independence Day celebrations in Pakistan,” he said.

A member of the audience, Dua Fatima said the performances were diverse and that she had seen Turkish performances for the first time.

“Such events will promote a positive image of Pakistan,” she said.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2017