I hate to be that guy. The guy who just dislikes everything. When confronted by such people in life, I always want to say to them, “Ok bhai, aap ne zindagi mein kya kiya hai?” [What have you done in your life?] And yet, here I am.

This is the second time I’m writing for Icon and, sorry, Natasha Noorani and Talal Qureshi, but I just didn’t like Laiyan. I don’t know, is there something wrong with me these days? I didn’t like the Taha G song I wrote about a few weeks ago, even though I usually love his stuff. And these are two of my favourite Pakistani artists… I was so excited when the single dropped, too!

The song is, no doubt, brilliantly produced: the music just flows through you. The tempo is perfect for a Sunday drive (not if you’re on Karachi’s roads, but anywhere else). Technically, Natasha’s vocals are good, but perhaps the issue is that everyone who worked on this song wasn’t able to translate a very Western song into an Urdu context.

On this same music, if Natasha were singing in English, with the same melody, it might have worked. I’m not saying that Urdu songs can’t be done with Western music and melodies. I’m just saying it didn’t work in this particular song. Natasha herself has done it brilliantly in the past, with songs such as Baby Baby and Chhorro, and the producer, Talal Qureshi, has a reputation for churning out hit after hit. Of course, because of the fact that he’s actually trying out new stuff, sometimes he misses, too. One can only respect him for that. If you’re not going to take risks, then what kind of artist are you?

While Natasha Noorani and Talal Qureshi’s Laiyan was an attempt at fusion that didn’t quite work out, Jimmy Khan’s Ishq-i-Dam Jahon succeeds beautifully

I have some good news, though. I absolutely love the second song I’m reviewing here: Ishq-i-Dam Jahon by Jimmy Khan and Nasir Khusrow Academy. So the story is that Jimmy was selected for a resident manager programme by Mountain Story resort in Hunza, which is an exchange program for artists and professionals to go up and engage with the community there. This is the first project that he has released from his collaborations while he was in the programme, and you really should watch the music video he has made for it, to do justice to what is happening here.

The song is written by popular Wakhi poet Nazir Ahmed Bulbul, and is performed by the students of Nasir Khusrow Academy in Ghulkin, Hunza. Wakhi is an endangered language, so one has all the more respect for what Jimmy has done.

Whereas Laiyan was an attempt at fusion that didn’t quite work out, Ishq-i-Dam Jahon succeeds beautifully. Jimmy does have the ability to create songs that seamlessly sound both old and new — Nadiya and Baarish had that same quality.

Recorded and shot in a completely guerilla style, it has a simple, beautiful melody that reminds me of every time I have been in Hunza, especially the authentic beauty of the people there, who choose to live in such a harsh and yet bountiful land.

The song features a rubab competently played by the young Inayat Ullah Baig, and is sung by the joyful voices of children. It’s not just a song for children, though; people of all ages can enjoy it, even if you don’t understand Wakhi. And that’s where the truly bittersweet part of the story lies.

It is highly unlikely that you, dear reader, speak Wakhi, because there are only 40,000 native speakers of the language left in the world. Climate change and other factors related to development are destroying the region where the words and music of this song are from, so please enjoy it today, because it is a snapshot into a world that may not exist tomorrow.

Nofil Naqvi is a director/producer and a music enthusiast, write to him at nofilnaqvi@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, ICON, October 23rd, 2022