LAHORE: The five-decade-old All Pakistan Music Conference, a musical venture woven deep into the rich traditions of the city, kicked off on Monday at Alhamra Art Center, The Mall.

The inaugural evening of the six-day musical extravaganza was dedicated to the late Javed Ahmed Qureshi, president of All Pakistan Music Conference. His portrait, a pencil sketch, hung in the hall and caught everyone’s attention.

A former chief secretary, poet and great promoter of arts and culture, Qureshi was remembered fondly by all speakers. They held him in high esteem for not only enriching the cultural scene of Lahore with his efforts but also his services for the conference.

Former PTV finance general manager and one of the senior members of APMC, Khalid Ghayyas, remembering the good old days when Qureshi was the information and culture secretary, praised him for promotion of ghazal and drama during his tenure.

Mentioning Qureshi’s poetry, Ghayyas said almost all prominent singers had sung it, including Melody Queen Madam Noor Jehan and Abida Parveen. He said among the second generation of singers, Qureshi did a lot to introduce two new names in ghazal singing, Saima Jahan and Saima Mumtaz.

Walled City of Lahore Authority Director General Kamran Lashari admired Qureshi’s cooperation as the chief secretary in organising different cultural events such as the Lahore Canal Mela, All Pakistan Young Performer Festival, Jashan-i-Baharan, concerts, basant and establishment of food streets.

The conference organisers also distributed among the audience a booklet on Qureshi they had published. It contained articles and photographs of Qureshi with prominent personalities from arts and culture.

The evening concluded with a ghazal performance by Saima Mumtaz. She also sang one of Qureshi’s most popular ghazals, ‘Ashianay Ki Baat Kertay ho Dil Jalany Ki Baat Kertay ho’.

On Tuesday (today), students from different colleges and universities will compete for the Ghuzanffar Trophy and Roshan Ara Begum Shield.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2014