Pakistan suffering from excessive intolerance has made its people vulnerable to an onslaught of extremism, especially in the name of religion. It is breeding a sense of insecurity among the people and understandably everyone is affected by it.

This has been aptly depicted in Haroon’s new video, Ghoom Ghoom, from his new album, Haroon Ka Safar. The lyrics and music of the Ghoom Ghoom are brought together in such a way that the message of peace and tolerance is given subtly but effectively.

The video points out that while people belonging to various faiths are different in many ways, in essence they are all the same; they are all searching for God.

In the beginning the video says, “People of all faiths are searching for God and peace” and ends with “People of all faiths are searching for God and peace, we are one and the same in our desires…” pointing us towards a path we could all follow where we could learn tolerance and peace.

Haroon says that Ghoom Ghoom came to him as he sat waiting for the power supply to resume during recording at a friend’s studio in Karachi. “I had been strumming an acoustic guitar and within five minutes I had not only come up with the tune for this new song, but I also had the basic lyrics on which I would build the song,” he reminisced.

Haroon then went to Islamabad where he approached poet Sabir Zafar to write the lyrics song and give them final shape. The song was completed within a week.

Haroon adds that most people in the West believe that we are intolerant and a bit extremist in our views. He stressed that it is up to the people of Pakistan to change this opinion, and to help others understand us and change their opinion about us.

The music of Ghoom Ghoom is basically a mixture of several tunes, with Sufi tunes and lyrics complimenting each other. “There is also a nice blend of Spanish guitar work in the beginning sprinkled with Arabian tunes and a bit of choir. The beat is also spiritually moving. It also has bits of traditional and modern beats together, giving the song a strong, yet varying tune to pluck at the heart strings,” says the singer. This strange yet pleasant blending of tunes not only makes the song catchy, it gives it an interesting flavour as well.

Haroon has put the song on Youtube with English subtitles and has also done an English version of the song so that more and more people can understand its message that the people of Pakistan want to coexist with peace and harmony.

Haroon explains, “Both Pakistanis and westerners got in touch with me to say that they either loved it or that it gave them a unique view of our society, thereby changing their opinion about us.”

The video is nice and simple, and the editing is crisp except for one shot of Haroon in the beginning. It may be deliberate but it seems misplaced, almost as if something else had to be added. The beginning is a nice collage of people from different religious backgrounds in their places of worship, immediately setting the mood.

The video of Ghoom Ghoom was shot in 20 different locations in England and Pakistan. There is one shot which is quite interesting: it takes viewers through a Sufi shrine and into a long, white tunnel which to me symbolises a long, unending journey towards religious harmony.