KARACHI, Jan 9: The Central Production Unit of the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation does not promote classical and contemporary music the way it used to in the past.
The deputy controller of the CPU, Iffat Naqi, told Dawn that she did not know the ABC of music.
"It is beyond me why I have been transferred to the CPU. All my life I covered current affairs and international relations. I think music is sin. I get to know the names of established music artists only when I sign their pay cheques," she said.
Radio Pakistan officials told Dawn that the CPU, created about 25 years ago, was entrusted with the task of producing songs which, once approved by the headquarters, were broadcast all over the country from all the centres of the Pakistan Broadcasting Company.
"Apart from producing songs on a regular basis, the Central Production Unit also preserves archival material, such as rare interviews, Mushairas, functions, etc. However, it is a pity that the Central Production Unit, which was previously known as the Transcription Service, has produced few popular songs over the past 10 years or so," they said.
"Songs produced by the Central Production Unit in Karachi are sent to the headquarters in Islamabad where it is decided whether a song is good or not. If a song is approved, the officials in charge of the Central Production Unit fix the royalty to be paid to the singer. In this way, copyright of the song is acquired by Radio Pakistan," they explained.
Ms Naqi said that apart from her lack of aptitude for the job, another problem that she faced was that of a technical nature. "The office of the CPU is on the 13th floor of the building which also houses the offices of the Accountant General of Sindh, in Gulshan-i-Iqbal.
The CPU studios are, however, on the ground floor. Sometimes this becomes a great problem, especially when elevators are not working properly. Besides, other than myself, ie deputy controller, there are one producer and one programme manager at the CPU. With such a small workforce, we can hardly do anything," she said.
The CPU deputy controller said that funds were not a problem for her organization. "I think we have enough funds and we can always ask for more. The main problem is that we concentrate too much on music," she said.
A veteran musician, who did not want to be named, said that because of change in priorities, Radio Pakistan did not audition new singers and give them a chance to perform on the air.
"All great names of the music world made their debut at Radio Pakistan. If luminaries like Z.A. Bokhari had not given new and inexperienced singers a chance to prove their worth, they would not have been able to put Pakistan on the map," he said.
Speaking about the significance of auditions, he said that at auditions experienced producers, who had a lot of knowledge about music and musical instruments, used to ask vocalists to sing stuff other than what they were good at.
"In those days all those singers who were approved or engaged by Radio Pakistan were great singers. It was a great honour to be on the payroll of Radio Pakistan," he recalled.
