LAHORE: Veteran singer Tahira Syed’s concert on Friday night at a local hotel made the audience mainly comprising middle-aged music lovers nostalgic.

Tahira jogged the audience’s memory by performing some of her popular songs such as ‘Wo Batain Teri Wo Fasanay Teray’, ‘Ye Aalam Shauq Ka’ and the Punjabi hit ‘Chanjar Phabdi Na’.

The evening titled ‘Sham-i-Sheher-i-Yaran’ held in connection with Faiz International Festival was divided into two segments. In the first segment Tahira sang Faiz’s poetry; the second segment was dedicated to her own songs as well as her mother Malika Pukhraj’s.

Faiz’s granddaughter Mira Hashmi conducted this evening of song and music. While opening the evening, Mira said Faiz Foundation Trust celebrated Faiz festival every year, but this was the first time the festival was being celebrated with international participation. She then invited Tahira on stage and reminisced about the days when the mother-daughter duo used to sing on PTV.

Tahira said she dedicated the concert to Faiz Ahmed Faiz and her parents. She opened the evening with Faiz’s poem ‘Yad Ki Rah Guzar’, telling the audience this poem had recently been composed by Arshad Mehmood and she was singing it for the first time. She then sang ‘Aaj Bazaar Mein Pabajaulan Chalo’ and ‘Hum Key Thehray Ajnabi’ that she said Faiz wrote on the Fall of Dhaka. She also performed ‘Mera Dard Naghama-i-Besada’.

While singing ‘Kab Dil Ki Khair Manayien’, Tahira said it was first performed by her mother. The audience enjoyed old classics such as ‘Wo Batain Teri wo Fasanay Teray’ and ‘Ye Alam Shauq Ka’, ‘Ye Mehfil Jo Aaj Saji Hai’, ‘Chanjar Phabdi Na’, ‘Abhi to Mein Jawan Hoon’, which received a thunderous applause.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2015