PESHAWAR: A PhD scholar doing research on Pashto music is planning to set up the first-ever music school in the province to promote and preserve musical instruments.

“I love Pashto music and want to promote and preserve our traditional music,” said Rashid Ahmad Khan, who has a melodious voice and sings Pashto ghazals and songs.

Rashid Ahmad Khan, who hails from Jhanda village of Swabi, took up singing seriously quite early in life and often holds jamming session with musicians.

Though not a professional artiste, he is all set to start his music school, Sandareez Kore (house of melodies), and plans to establish its branches at home and abroad in near future.

“We have been proposing it (music school) at various seminars and cultural events but one day, I thought why not I take the initiative and start one myself,” he said.

Rashid Ahmad says he wants to promote, preserve traditional Pashto music

Mr Rashid Ahmad said it would be a house, which would bring the ustaads or musicians of Pashto music at one place so immature artistes and music lovers could come and learn any music instrument they liked.

“I fear that many skilled musicians we have in Peshawar may be no more one day and their skill would perish with them. This house will help youths learn from such musicians,” he said.

He is in the process of training the ustaad since most of them are highly skilled themselves but uneducated and need a little training so they can impart skill or teach the young at the music school.

A research scholar at the Pashto department of the University of Peshawar, Mr Rashid Ahmad said Abdul Waheed Khan, chairman of the Pashto department, encouraged him to do research on Pashto music and that he gladly took up that field first for MPhil degree and then PhD degree.

He said he himself wanted to do more for promotion of Pashto music although he was singing despite odds.

He faced all kinds of odds, including even being called ‘dum’, a Pashto word for professional artiste but a term or profession, which have become derogatory with time as the people lose touch with old values and Pakhtun culture in which every skilled artisan had a particular role and respect in Pakhtun milieu.

“My mother is the one, who always supported me and I am thankful to her,” said the scholar, who went a step further by setting up a music school on his own to encourage the young music lovers like himself to learn and play different instruments.

Financial support is also needed as music and singing is not a cheap hobby.

One needs to have instruments and learn to play it. Then in modern times making videos of the music and songs is also expensive, and so it is a hobby needing social and financial support, he said.

As great Pashto poet and philosopher Ghani Khan also pointed out in his book ‘The Pathan’ decades ago that a Pakhtun loves music but hates musicians, Mr Rashid Ahmad said there had been no change in society’s attitude.

“Artistes still are not respected and often face financial problems too. Pakhtun audience would love attan dance, music and singing but they would not appreciate the professional artiste since he does it for money,” he said declaring such behaviour the biggest hurdle to the development of Pashto artistes.

He said the people failed to understand that to produce good music and albums, one needed finances as well as talents.

“The artiste needed to earn too to keep making music and live for music,” he said.

Referring to ‘Dastaar Nama’ by great Pashto poet and warrior Khushal Khan Baba, he said Khushal Baba had made it mandatory for every Pakhtun to learn 20 arts, including fine arts like music, to achieve success in life.

“The music school will help music lovers learn about musical instruments and singing, and about Pakhtun culture, too, in doing so,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2017