Gao, Suno, Badlo, the joint musical-social project of Aawaaz and Mishermayl, concluded its six-month series of songs on National Minorities Day with ‘Aao Karain Sab Ko Salaam,’ which salutes respected figures from different minority communities.

The video starts off with a child tuning into a radio station as the broadcaster names famous individuals like author Bapsi Sidhwa, singer A. Nayyer, intellectual Sobho Gianchandani, child activist Iqbal Masih and many others. The list stops abruptly as the song asks about the countless individuals who would have served the nation.

Screengrab from video shows the child trying to tune in the radio

As the child rides his bicycle with a tiny flag and origami bird on its handle, the song sung by Khawar Javed tells listeners to pay their respects to each and every member of the minority community and make it a daily habit to remember them in thoughts and wishes.

The lyrics penned by Salman Haider credit all those people who have contributed in various fields, including education, medical, arts, sports and the armed forces.

Kaheen khel k maidaanon me

Kaheen adl k aiwanon me

Koi mehnat kash ka saathi

Koi sarhad pe de pehra

Koi dard ka daru thehra

Koi kaanon me ras gholay

Koi lafz ki girhen kholay

Symbols, efforts and response

This isn’t the first time that GSB has highlighted the pressing issue of the mistreatment of minorities in the country. Their previous single ‘Kithay Reh Gaye’ had eerie but similar overtones.

Screengrab from the video shows Benjamin Sisters

Ali Aftab Saeed, who has produced GSB, said that both songs cater to the same topic in different ways: “'Kithay Reh Gaye' was to highlight the plight of minorities and a plea for peaceful coexistence. 'Aao Karain Sab Ko Salam' is to celebrate the white in our flag and their contributions to this society.”

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In all the songs produced under GSB the symbolism stands out; in this one, the origami bird which flies away in the end takes center stage.

Explaining the idea, Ali said: “It symbolises peace and we used it to show that within our society there are people who are in favor of peaceful coexistence. The origami bird represents this crowd.They might not be as loud or have multiple forums as the people who spread hate speech, but they exist. The video shows that the little boy is stopping everywhere he finds the origami bird to meet those who are saluting the efforts of the minorities. It is as if he is being guided by these individuals to a certain place.”

Screengrab shows origami birds on a tree symbolising peace

Out of all the previous songs which had a chirpy, solemn or an uncanny melody, ‘Sab Ko Salam’ sounds like an anthem.

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Ali believes that the composition was done to create an impact as it will be the last song in the series: “From the song to the video, we tried to leave a powerful impact since it was our last. In the video too the boy chases the sound on his radio and finds us where we are playing our song and the core team of GSB, Farhan Adeel, Saad Sultan, Madiha Gul and myself, we hand him over the origami bird to carry the peace torch forward to the next generation and we leave.”

Sharing his experience working on GSB, Ali said that it was a great experience and the response was amazing: “Honestly, the number of people we wanted to reach through this when we developed the concept, we beat that target with the first two songs. After that it has been a bonus and we are truly overwhelmed.”