Twenty-seven-year-old Irfan Ali Taj is streetsmart when it comes to marketing his musical talent. His compositions are contemporary but have a deep connection with the mountainous, idyllic valley of Chitral where he hails from.

“I am doing contemporary folk music in a way that I can contribute to preserving Chitrali music,” claims Taj who studied marketing in Karachi. But instead of choosing the subject as a profession, he adopted his flair for musical composition and song-writing as career.

Born in the Ismaili community of Upper Chitral, Taj was exposed to music since he was a child going to the Jamaat Khana for prayers. He would reverently eulogise saints by singing Persian hymns with the Sufi’s favourite musical instrument, the rabab. As he grew up and moved to the City of Lights, his passion for music grew. He also learnt to play other instruments such as the guitar but it was just a few years ago that he finally decided to take up music seriously.

Irfan Taj showcases the people and culture of Chitral in his attempt to modernise folk music

With the release of his first song ‘Khanabadosh’ [Nomad], Taj brought his hometown, culture and music into the limelight through a project that he worked on with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s tourism department. It is the breathtaking beauty of the Chitral valley in his music video that invites nomads from all over the world to come and experience the beauty and grandeur of the mountains and valleys he grew up in.

Soon after that he released his second song ‘Ashiqi Angar’ which shot him to fame as it truly exhibited his talent. The lyrics, written by Chitrali poet Mir Saleem with some additions by Taj, explain the agony of eternal love and the track was released as the first contemporary Chitrali folk song in Pakistani music industry. Featuring Taj and Zoe Viccaji, the song is beautifully sung with the picturesque backdrop of Chitral.

His song ‘Dunya Ju Baso’, again featuring Viccaji, has a message of how life, so short, should be lived. The lyrics are in Khowar (the language spoken in Chitral) but the message is universal. The video shows beautiful, smiling kids who symbolise the beauty of Chitrali people and their culture.

Taj is part of the Aawar Aman Initiative for Music which works for the preservation of music, culture and language of his native valley. Commenting on his four songs — which are a fusion of Chitrali and Urdu languages as well as traditional and contemporary instruments — Taj says that he wants to reach out to people other than Chitralis.

‘Ishq Daryah’ is a love song — in a mix of Urdu and Khowar — which expresses his deep love for the beloved, nature and God. The video shows golden leaves and majestic mountains of Chitral’s winter and the melody is a fusion of some indigenous musical instruments of the region such as the Chitrali sitar and the rabab, as well as the guitar.

Taj is part of the Aawar Aman Initiative for Music (AAIM) which works for the preservation of music, culture and language of his native valley. Commenting on his four songs — which are a fusion of Chitrali and Urdu languages as well as traditional and contemporary instruments — Taj says that he wants to reach out to people other than Chitralis. For this, he has to include other languages to attract the attention of a larger audience. In future, he plans to revive old Chitrali cultural songs and melodies and make it a part of contemporary music.

He strives to promote and preserve Chitrali music and culture because he is concerned that young talent in Chitral has no access to good quality music studios in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. No youth from Chitral has pursued a career in music but Taj is determined to showcase and share indigenous music and culture with the world through his contemporary ditties.

The writer is a member of staff

Published in Dawn, EOS, December 10th, 2017