Mausam e Nau – Coke Studio Pakistan: The Wish List

This is the final piece on Coke Studio Pakistan, Season 9. (Note to self: Never listen to Muns when she conspires for another listicle – let her try the exhausting task herself!)

A few favorites came together recently in Dubai and I was the idiot travelling yet again so missed the event. Strings and Meesha sang for SKMH and the desi crowd, Pakistanis and Indians alike, are raving about it. 

Consolation related to SKMH is easy. Every time I miss a fund raiser in my neck of the woods I donate anyway, and every time the stinky PMLN media cell tries to trash SKMH, I donate yet again.  Plenty of dirhams have gone out lately to the cause! Thank you PMLN creepia cell for keeping my money honest and unwittingly strengthening what you aim to destroy.  In your own prophetic words… “Alhamdulillah”.

As for Strings and Meesha, one of these days I shall catch Meesha in person and bless her, as a working woman should, for her effort to put cracks in the glass ceiling of women in music. Oh dear, that sounds so Hillary. I’m sure Meesha will fare better though, her spirit is pure and she never stole an election from Bernie.

In the meantime, as another favorite band once said “Thank you for the music, for bringing it to me”.

The X Factor

1. Mohsin “DJ” Haider Abbas: ‘Nuf said. He will emerge as an all rounder soon. Needs a grooming guide, although(already doing rather well with the skin whitening treatment…amazing in’it?. I consider him in the Ali Zafar/Fawad Khan league. 

2. Ali Sethi: Icecream, smooth and satisfying. He will progress because he not only has talent but perseverance to learn.

3. Meesha Shafi: God’s special, gifted creature. She reigns as queen of Pakistani pop rock.

4. Shuja Haider: What a ridiculously talented songwriter and composer. I do wish, though, that composers should stop short of singing. There are better voices that would do Shuja’s extraordinary compositions full justice.

If wishes were horses….their names would be Inclusion and Diversity

• It is heartening to experience the many religious shades of Pakistan’s green and white. The love of music in churches, mandirs and gurdwaras is represented by some artistes and I hope that, along with Islamic kalam, CS will incorporate hymns, bhajans and other religious pieces as well. Kabir’s dohay, Guru Nanak’s writings are sometimes represented; more can be.

• If one were to define Pakistan against a singular context, it would have to be Sufism. It is the thread that links people who speak different languages, follow different faiths, exist in separate economic and political realms. But I wish that CS would stop limiting Sufism to Bhulleh Shah alone. He is supreme, no doubt, and it is to the credit of contemporary musicians that his kalam remains fresh amongst the young, but there are so many others. One can start with Bhitai and end at Rehman Baba.   

• The same goes for languages. Almost half of Season 9 is Punjabi, and a lot of the previous seasons as well. A peppering of Sindhi, Pushto, Rajasthani is not sufficient. That one country boasts languages that are not only spoken differently but often also written so is fascinating. That each language carries hundreds of dialects is absolutely staggering. We haven’t heard enough in Pahari, or Darri, Hindko or Makrani, or English for that matter. 

• I am reminded of my age when I find myself humming old Pakistani film favorites, from an era when masters like Baba Chishti, Khawaja Khursheed Anwar, Sohail Rana, Qateel Shifai, Rashid Attrey, Khawaja Pervaiz wrote and composed. Every number was a refined gem, to be remembered forever. How interesting it would be to have a full season of Pakistani filmi music, refreshed….re-covered…reinvented. Strings have Anwar Maqsood’s full attention, an eye witness of and participant in our cinematic history; his input would be so valuable.

• An experiment to move a little to the left of pop and political correctness would be interesting.  Risky, ofcourse, but CS has a diehard following which will neither falter nor disappoint. One need not become defiant, but one must at least speak; “Bol ke lab…” alongside “Dasht e Tanhai”. How about Strings’ own intoxicatingly hope-inducing “Mein to Dekhoon ga”? Be courageous, take a chance on us.

• It seems that the alternate pop scene is thriving and young Pakistanis are churning out creative pieces in all genres; hard rock, rap, jazz….covers of popular English numbers. Why have we never had an English production? Why no rap, especially when so many good rap artists are showing great work? One of them could be the next international star.

• Is it just me or do you notice a lack of girl power? The great lady Abida who is more equal than others and her worthy follower Sanam are the power duo, with Meesha steadily making a place for herself. Naseebo, unfortunately, let herself be under-utilized, and the rest exist thankfully but deliver mediocrity. Why are there no female directors either? Generations of women have been held back due to misguided societal norms. Now, give the women a chance.

• Where are the children? If CS would go looking for them, I am sure they will be found in every household, in every strata of society. Music is to the soul what food is to life; teach this to the children early. Be the pied piper; gather the children. 

• And finally, it is now quite clear that Amn ki Asha has, inevitably, deteriorated into Amn ka Tamasha, and there is little the Pakistani Government will do about it since their lips are sealed and not “Azad” at all. There is much that Pakistan and India have to haggle over, but they love our music equally as much as we love their movies. These are love affairs divined in heaven and not easily unraveled. Diplomacy runs along parallel tracks, as Iqbal said “Jiss se jigar e lala  mein thandak ho woh shabnam….Daryaon ke dil jiss se dehel  jaein woh toofan”. Let the Army handle the latter, let music be the food for the former. Take the higher moral ground and invite Indian artistes to participate in CS. Let Ali sing with Shreya, let Fawad rap with…err…does India have anyone to match Fawad? Governments never heal wounds, they cause them. People never cause them, they always heal them.