PESHAWAR: A group of amateur singers from the Edwardes College, Peshawar enthralled participants of an annual musical concert, Shaam-i-Ghazal, on Friday night by signing classical and light ghazals.

The event was organised by the college’s Literary Society.

Amateur group of Edwardes College students, including Arun Kumar and friends, sang ghazals of classical Urdu and Pashto poets.

Ustad Saeed Paras, a music teacher, also performed at the event to the delight of participants.

Shabana Gul, a third year student from Bajaur Agency, told Dawn that he had attended a musical concert focusing on ghazals for the first time in life.

“Students of literature must attend such events. By music, we could feel the inner voice of our literary giants and purity of their thoughts travelling through our souls,” he said.

She was a stage organiser of the Literary Society at the Edwardes College.

She advised students to actively take part in such literary and cultural activities to enrich their knowledge treasure trove and purify their souls.

Professor Hanif Rasool, in charge of the LS staff, said previously, the college debating society used to be English-only but efforts were being made to encourage local culture as well.

“Earlier, the focus was on promoting English culture through staging English plays but now, we want to encourage our students to display talents in local cultural activities whether music, drama or poetry too,” he said.

Professor Hanif said the LS provided ample opportunities to students to show their inborn talents.

“Our students have performed very well in every field including music, art and literature,” he said. Mohammad Sadiq Zaki, a retired professor, along with ex-bureaucrat friend, Sardar Niaz, was in attendance.

They said they were both students of the Edwardes College in 60s when they used to enjoy Shakespearean plays live on stage.

“Around 40 years ago, I used to participate in stage plays of Shakespeare.

I am very happy that Edwardes College has maintained some of its golden traditions. Such events keep students in good spirits and inspire them to come up with new ideas,” Sadiq Zaki said.

Sardar Niaz said music was not just entertainment but listening to it was an ecstatic experience too.

Young Edwardians who performed on stage included Tariq Jameel, Vinod, Arbab Mohammad Hassan, Tahir, Yasirullah Zia Khattak, Haris Khattak and Sahal Khan.

They sang ghazals of Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Ahmad Faraz, Ghani Khan, Hamza Baba and other classical Urdu and Pashto poets.

Some tried to sing like great ghazal maestros including Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hasan, Ustad Shah Wali and Khial Mohammad. Two Edwardians, Arun and Vinod, stole the show by playing harmonium and tabla.

The tasteful audience in the hall gave a standing ovation to young performers for their wonderful performance.

Senior student, Salman Khan, who was the chief organiser of the LS, said the college had always helped young students follow literary and creative pursuits.

“The musical concert provided great relief to students especially those living in hostels from their hectic study hours,” he said. Interestingly, participants remained glued to their seats for three long hours.

Later, certificates and shields were given away to students for showing outstanding performance at the event.

The college conferred a special prize on Jawad Azhar, president of LS, for his excellent organisational skills. Old teachers, old Edwardians, boarders, and girl students attended the event.

Published in Dawn December 14th , 2014