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An evening of reflection
It was past eight as the warm evening breeze lazily made its way through the front lawn of the US consul general’s residence. Security was tight, the US Marines looked their towering best and the guests were slowly trickling in to be met with the warm receptive smiles of their American hosts. The occasion, a musical concert by pop star Shehzad Roy in memory of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal journalist who, just over a year ago, was murdered in Karachi.
Being the last weekend before Ramazan, the social itinerary of Pakistan’s largest metropolis was overflowing with events. And to top it all off, it was also Diwali, the Hindu festival of colour, lights and lots of firecrackers. But as the popping and whizzing crackers may have forced the security blanket to be extra vigilant, the US Consul General to Karachi, Douglas C. Rohn, took the spotlight and started the evening’s proceedings.
In his short speech, he informed the selected guests and members of the press that well over 100 similar concerts had been planned all over the world in commemoration of Pearl’s rare ability to form new friendships wherever he went.
“Other than being a courageous journalist, Daniel was also an accomplished amateur musician. He was a mandolin player, a violinist and a fiddler. In every town he lived, he joined a band or an orchestra and formed new connections through his passion for music and friendship.”
This is the reason why today, among the prominent members of the Daniel Pearl Foundation, are names such as Elton John, Zuben Mehta, John Williams and Ravi Shankar.
Thereon, the US CG handed the mike to young Shehzad and it was on with the show. And what a show it was. Shehzad’s group of tabla beating, guitar strumming and drum banging musicians hit the high note almost immediately. In all, the boys put together ten numbers, ranging from well-known bhangra poppers like Jina Karloge Piyar, to a redux of the Bee Gees’ classic, Words, which, we were informed, was one of Daniel Pearl’s favourites.
The pleasure of listening to Shehzad’s high-end numbers in those serene and secure surroundings was altogether a different experience. There was no fear of gate crashers, no unruly 20-somethings who are always willing to strip and jump on stage and definitely no burly security personnel to control the unruly ones. It was an evening to enjoy music and to reflect on what we as Karachiites might be missing in terms of cultural and social activities just because we have failed to keep our house in order.
But credit must also go to Shehzad, who was clever enough to know that he couldn’t get the mostly 40-plus crowd to get up and don their dancing shoes. He opted to flex his humour muscles quite successfully. From threats of no American visas for those who didn’t clap, to sharing other light moments, the crowd enjoyed a rich-cocktail of Shehzad-pop and Shehzad-humour. But that doesn’t mean the crowd was unresponsive to his peppy tunes. Matter of fact, his bhangra-pop mix even had the consul general tapping his feet who, at the end of the show, confessed that he almost felt like a ‘rock-star’. But it was the star of the evening who reserved the best words for last: “Pakistan wants peace, wants to promote peace and not extremism. And music is a powerful medium of delivering this message.”
So, is this the start of a new cultural calendar by the American Consulate? Sadly, this was a one-off event. As Steve Labens, the Consulate’s Cultural Affairs officer said, “We definitely look forward to holding such events in the future, but as of now, nothing is on the cards.” Of course, security must be the real cause of concern, as the security during this concert was pretty tight, considering the guests had to park their cars a good distance away from the venue.
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