The German embassy is known for its diverse events, including films, classical music, bazaars, ordinary diplomatic receptions, dinners and more. This week, it was a rock concert in the garden of the ambassador’s residence, an event for the young – and the young at heart. It was made lively by the presence of hundreds of teenagers from schools in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, mainly the Roots School System.

MATEO, a German rock band, held a long concert, loud and fun. The band of five East German musicians had been selected by PopCamp of the German Music Council to visit Pakistan.

“Sprechen Sie Deutsch (Do you speak German),” the youngsters asked whoever looked a bit foreign, because many of the students had been taking German for some years and had passed their ‘Prüfung’ (exam) in the language.

The schools in Pakistan teaching German language are united in a network called, PASCH, ‘Schools: partners for the future’.

Peter Felten, deputy ambassador, and Dan Tidten, head of the press and culture, were full of praise of the students.

Khadija Mushtaq, director of Roots, was indeed happy with the evening, and with her students’ well chosen words when providing a Vote of Thanks at the end, in German.

But the music continued for a while, still quite loud, when a foreign diplomat said he was off to the neighbouring Turkish embassy, to offer his congratulations to the ambassador, Sadik Babür Girgin, on the occasion of the country’s national day. On his way home, he stopped again at the German embassy, saying that he had expected to hear MATEO even in the garden of the Turkish embassy. “No, I didn’t. And the Turks played the most beautiful classical music, including some pieces by German composers,” he joked, adding that there is a large Turkish community in Germany.

And then, when the band members had switched off their mikes and packed their instruments, the caterers had taken the leftover barbeque chicken with them, and the diplomats, teachers, students and the rest had just managed to reach home – yes, then the wind followed by a heavy downpour. Yet, a few raindrops in the hair mean luck on festive occasions, according to traditional European superstition.

— Text and pho­to by Atle Hetland & Shahbaz Chaudary

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2014