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A Pashto delight
Pakhtoons are born with three things: religion, poetry and music. Their tough lifestyle finds expression in tapa, which is also the favoured mode of expression for romantic and spiritual feelings. Many singers have sung tapa in their own styles, but when Haroon Bacha lends his voice to it, the genre touches new heights.
Bacha was born on July 20, 1972 in the village Panjpeer, district Swabi in the NWFP. He has a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Peshawar and is presently doing his Ph. D thesis from the same institution.
Bacha always had a natural flair for singing. Naat, qirat and singing competitions during his school days provided chances to young Haroon to exhibit his hidden talent. But the music club of Edwards College helped in honing his skills and enabled Haroon Bacha to make a name for himself in the world of Pashto music. He learnt to play the tabla and harmonium there. After receiving tacit permission from his parents, Prof Zia-ul-Qamar, a known TV artist, took Haroon to PTV Peshawar Centre, where Shaukat Ali, a senior PTV producer, introduced him to the mini-screen.
Bacha’s first album, Da Rangoono Makhaam, was released in 1996, followed by Ghunchakoona, which contained both ghazals and tapas. Wanting to be recognized as a serious singer, he soon realized that to make a place in the hearts of the common people, he had to sing what they desired. Bacha appreciates modern musical instruments, but does not approve of blending them with pure, traditional Pashto music.
His influence on modern pop music is quite visible as one of his Pashto ‘tapas, Awal Ba Kala Kala Ghum Wo’ was picked up by Rahim Shah, who redid the number in Urdu as ‘Pehley Tu Kabhi Kabhi Ghum Tha,’ which was an instant hit with the masses
His influence on modern pop music is quite visible as one of his Pashto tapas, Awal Ba Kala Kala Ghum Wo was ‘picked up’ by Rahim Shah, who redid the number in Urdu as Pehley Tu Kabhi Kabhi Ghum Tha, which was an instant hit with the masses.
“I wanted to revive centuries old Pashto folk songs and present them in a new style. I selected tapa, which is the oldest literary genre and the most effective vehicle for expressing a typical Pakhtoon romance. There are more than a hundred ways of singing tapa, but I discovered an altogether new style, which hit it big,” says the singer. His style has also been copied across the border in Urdu and other languages.
In a way, Haroon Bacha universalized Pashto tapa to such an extent that new varieties of the genre are now coming up. It is not only in folk singing that he has made his mark; he has also set new trends in ghazal singing and the rendering of poems. He believes that there is still room for experiments in Pashto music. Bacha has received the regional PTV award for best light singer in 2001. His advice to young singers: “First develop a taste for good poetry and then quality music so that you can do justice to the art.” At the same time he acknowledges that it is an uphill task due to the lack of proper technical facilities.
He likes to sing the poetry of Rahmat Shah Sail, Shamsul Qamar Andesh, Khushaal Khan Khattak and Rehman Baba because there is humanism, sobriety and a message of love in the verses of these poets. His albums Perkha Pa Lambo, Ya Qurbaan, Qadamoona, Tamashey and Lalazaar have already brought a change in Pashto music.
Bacha says he has informally learnt the intricacies of music from his music director, Sahib Gul. Surprisingly, the singer does not want to make music his career.
“Being a university graduate, I think I can serve Pashto music better without making it my profession as commercialism robs one’s art and talent.” Nonetheless, his most recent album Saroor is doing very well in the market.
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