KARACHI: Sweet tune of alghoza (a pair of woodwind instrument) and exciting melody of murli (flute) played by the country’s leading artistes were highlights of the day at the folk concert organised at the US consulate general to commemorate Sindh Culture Day.

It was for the fourth year in a row that the US consulate general in Karachi celebrated the Sindh Culture Day with a folk music concert and reception.

Sattar Jogi mesmerised the selected audience in the hall of the well-guarded consulate building with murli in his magic hands. At a short session, he played Rag Sampooran based on Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai’s verses and Rag Durga, the signature tune for the snake charmers in South Asia.

After him came Arbab Khoso, one of the leading alghoza nawaz in the country. The pair of woodwind instruments needed mastery of the player’s stamina and craft that Mr Khoso showed he was amply capable of. He played three tunes based popular folk and classic Sindhi and Seraiki songs that forced many in the audience to dance around him.

Ahmed Mughal, one of the most popular singers in Sindh, finally came to culminate the programme. He is famous for his ‘Jiye Sindh Jiye, Sindh wara Jiyan’ song. His voice enthralled the audience as many of them kept dancing until the organisers formally closed the function.

Earlier, US Consul General Grace Shelton welcomed Sindhi media, cultural contacts, and dignitaries to the event.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Shelton said: “Sindh is a land of mystics, Sufis, poets and saints; the people of this land have created a peace-loving, inclusive and tolerant society.”

“On this great cultural day,” she said, “the United States wishes prosperity and peace to the people of Sindh.”

She said for the past four years, the US consulate had enjoyed celebrating Sindh Culture Day “to show our respect and appreciation for Sindh’s rich culture, a culture that historically has been inclusive and cohesive.”

She said in her time so far as consul general in Karachi, she had travelled throughout Sindh and to visit heritage sites, Sufi shrines, and many other beautiful landmarks.

“The people of Sindh have much to be proud of – your cultural traditions and civilisation are so beautiful and important. To me, Sindh culture is part of the beauty of Pakistan’s diversity.”

She said: “In the United States, we see great strength in diversity, and Americans and Sindhis have this in common. This is a wonderful opportunity for us, as foreigners, to get a real taste of the beauty and the depth and the harmony that is Sindh.”

Educationist and intellectual Dr Sulaiman Shaikh also spoke. Poets Amar Pirzado, and Maheen Hisbani recited their verses; and Masroor Pirzado recited poetry by American poet Walt Whitman and Shah Latif on the vital role of women in the two societies.

Published in Dawn December 4th, 2016