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For the love of music
Sampurna, a non-profit music academy founded by Saffia Beyg, recently celebrated its third anniversary by organizing a concert featuring ghazal singer Tina Sani. It was a fund-raising programme, held at the Royal Rodale, a relatively new venue. Saffia Beyg has been guiding Tina, who comes to her regularly to practice classical singing. “She has been chiselling and polishing whatever little talent I have,” Tina announced modestly before beginning the evening’s programme with Faiz’s couplet Raat yun dil may teri khoee huee yaad aaee, jaisay viranay may chupkay say bahaar ajae.
Tina is a gifted artist known for her renderings of Urdu ghazal in the traditional style. Her formal training in classical music was conducted first by Ustad Nizamuddin Khan of the Delhi gharana and later by Ustad Amrohvi. Tina has been practicing under the guidance of Saffia Beyg for the last one year, improvising her singing and giving it a new dimension through more conscious integration of the alaaps, etc.
“I have been singing since the age of 22 for the last 22 years, believe it or not,” Tina said, albeit a bit mischievously. “Who says there aren’t any listeners in the city?” The singer commented during an interlude in her singing, commending the large and appreciative audience.
Sampurna aims at familiarizing and enlightening its younger members in the basics of classical music, and to help them understand and appreciate this beautiful art form. Through its membership fees, it also supports young and upcoming artists who are talented but lack the resources and opportunities to pursue their interest. Seven child artists, sons of sitarist Sajid Husain and grandsons of tabla player Abid Husain, are being looked after by the academy. They are not only learning classical music but also attend regular school.
Sajid Husain’s three boys; ten-year old Shehroz, eight-year old Shehbaz and seven-year old Shehzad have been ‘adopted’ by Sampurna. According to Saffia Beyg, “they are not only future sitarists, but also the future singers of our country,” a claim held up by the boys’ renderings of a prayer and a thumri in khammaj and bhairaun raagas at the programme. “Thankfully, we are Muslims of the subcontinent, and classical music is our heritage, which has to be guarded and promoted,” she said, lovingly patting them. These children are the eighth generation of musicians in Sajid Husain’s family. Shehroz explained earlier that they play the sitar and sing every day for at least an hour. Sajid Husain tutors them and is very particular about their lessons. So far the boys have been trained in aiman, bhairvin, marwad, khammaj and bhairaun.
Tina’s selection of the ghazals from Faiz’s collection, for example, Gar mujhe is ka yaqin ho keh tere dil ki tarhan...meray hamdam meray dost, Wo butaun nay daalay hain waswasay, Baul kay lub azad hain jab tuk, spoke of the political upheavals of his times. The poetry of Faiz Ahmad Faiz is coldly precise and disturbing, and as relevant to the current times as when he wrote it. Perhaps written with a heavy heart, Faiz’s poetry, rendered by Tina, brings a lump in many a throat even today.
She also sang from the collections of Ahmad Faraz, Nasir Kazmi and Parween Shakir. Poetry that pertained to dreams as well as real life was sung sonorously. Tina included Daagh’s Khatir say ya lihaz say main maan tau gaya, jhuti qasam say aap ka imaan tau gaya, urging the teenagers in the audience not to pay heed to anyone who says that the classical poets wrote in a style that was difficult to understand. Her repertoire also included the famous ‘East Pakistan’ poet and lyricist who might have faded in our memory: Suroor Barabankvi’s Tau kya ye tay hay keh ab umr bhar nahi milna.
Before the evening ended a little after midnight, Tina sang Ibne Mariam huwa karay koee dedicating it to her husband as she said it was his favourite. She also obliged those in the audience who wished to hear Dasht-i-tanhai main, and Mujh say pehli si mohabbat, that have been otherwise sung to death. One wishes discerning singers like her would refrain from singing these for a few years, so that the audience learns to appreciate some refreshing new poetry and compositions.
When a young lady got up with a request-cum-threat of refusing to go home without hearing Meray dil meray musafir (another one of Faiz’s heart-rending poems, written in exile in London in 1978), Tina said she had no intention of leaving without singing it. The evening came to an end with her soulful rendition in bhairvin.
“Let us strive to keep classical music alive, the artists alive,” was the organizers’ message to the audience. Thanking the Friends of Sampurna for the support extended, Saffia Beyg acknowledged the Women’s Wing of SAARC that has already supported the school education for Sajid’s three boys, and has pledged to continue this support for the next academic year as well. One hopes Sampurna’s efforts to promote classical music will bear significant results.
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