PESHAWAR: Senior music director Ustad Nazeer Gul has said traditional Pashto music will continue to flourish despite digital music.

Talking to Dawn at Music Art Academy here on Sunday, he expressed the hope that with increasing interest of youth in learning the basic intricacies of music, traditional Pashto music would get a new dimension and would continue to inspire the audience with its own charm and natural taste.

Around 60 music buffs attend the Music Art Academy in different times of the week.

Nazeer Gul says interest of youth in learning music on rise

Naghma Jan, a girl student from Peshawar, told this scribe that she studied English literature at a local university but loved the art of singing. She said that her father in the beginning was reluctant to allow her to get music training but her mother supported her and her elder bother also encouraged her.

“I am fortunate enough to learn traditional music. I want to capture the true spirit of our music which in fact is our Pakhtun identity,” said Ms Jan.

Mr Gul said that he opened the academy 12 years ago and trained around 400 music aspirants. He said that some of them had received awards from local art organisations.

He said that noted Pashto singers Nazia Iqbal, Gulpanra, Wisal Khial, Sarfaraz and many others were his students. The Music Art Academy has students from parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal districts of age group ranging from 16 to 60.

Mohammad Hayat Khan, 60, a driver by profession, said he performed on the state-run TV way back in 1975 by singing the most popular Pashto song ‘Bia Kaday Barigee’. He said that he was still in love with traditional Pashto music.

“I attend Ustad Nazeer Gul’s academy for enjoying the environment where I see young students busy in getting training in the original music,” he said.

Mr Gul said that with such a great interest of youth in receiving training, he did not see any threat to traditional Pashto music that survived despite electronic music trend where most people depended on computer music but were unaware of basics of music.

“Therefore, young aspirants are turning to learning of the art of traditional Pashto music and instruments,” he said.

Javed Iqbal, a student of computer science at Shabqadar Degree College, said that he didn’t belong to a music family but his parents clandestinely permitted him to learn the basics of music. He said he took two days out of his tight study schedule and walked up to academy.

“I learn music to preserve it because I think unless we, the young educated people, come forward to learn it, we will lose our identity gradually and slowly,” said Mr Iqbal.

Jawaz Hussain and Muntazir Ali from Upper Kurram tribal district and Kohat, both students of 10th grade, said that they received training at the academy for three years during their summer vacations.

Younas Khan, 17, another student from a local college, said that he approached the academy to get himself prepared for participating in a national music competition to be held in a Punjab school next month.

He said that he belonged to Dir Lower and was positive to win the competition after learning about seven tunes and beats for more than a week at the academy.

“The number of my music students runs in thousands since I had launched my career 45 years ago. The academy imparts training to music learners with a humble fee,” said Mr Gul.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2018