RAWALPINDI, June 18: Folksingers from Lahore and Rawalpindi enthralled the audience of a mystic musical night held at Rawalpindi Arts Council (RAC) on Tuesday, organised at the council’s auditorium.

A large number of mystic music lovers and people from different walks of life attended the evening, where RAC Resident Director Waqar Ahmed, Naheed Manzoor and Pakistan Muslim League-N’s MPA Raja Hanif Advocate were also present.

The ambience of the musical evening had a lot to offer when it came to the Sufi kalam and the set was simple but impressive. The evening started with the performance of RAC students, but the audience was really charged up when the stage was taken over by renowned folk singer Qurban Niazi.

Mr Niazi sang Bulleh Shah’s ‘Teray ishq nachaya kar ke thya thya’, and the performance spoke volumes about his experience. The instrumentalists, especially the tabla player, also produced tunes such that the audience spontaneously gave them a huge round of applause.

Shahenshah Niazi, son of Punjabi folk singer Tufail Niazi, also sang famous records of his father, Nusrat Fateh Ali and Mehdi Hasan, and received applause from the audience.

The final performance was of Nida Faiz who had come from Lahore for the musical evening and was known for her songs in TV and films. She performed Bulleh Shah’s “Saday val mukh mor” among other ghazals.

The audio system in the auditorium initially resulted in problems, but singers managed to get the system working before starting the show. The electricity loadshedding also stopped the function for a few minutes, during which the administrators ran the generators.

RAC’s Waqar Ahmed told Dawn that the basic aim of the function was to provide people with an opportunity to enjoy mystic poetry from renowned folk singers. “Mystic poetry teaches us the lessons of love and peace, which should be spread in the society to end tensions,” he said.

Naheed Manzoor, former resident director of RAC, said the arts council had been founded for the promotion of art and culture in the country, and the poetry of saints was a lesson to spread love in the society.