KARACHI: The second day (Saturday) of the 10th Tehzeeb Festival at the Arts Council of Pakistan was marked by some impressive harmonium playing by a professor of Urdu and an impromptu dance by members of the audience during a Thari singer’s performance.

The evening started off with a little documentary after which a young vocalist, Shahzeb Ali, was invited to perform. He sang raga megh. His was a nice stint on stage. He sang well. If he could add a bit more to his repertoire in terms of variations, he can be a force to reckon with.

Next up was Thari folk music. It was for a second year in succession that the festival had this kind of music as part of its programme, primarily because last year it turned out to be a noteworthy success. One felt that this time around the artists were lacking a trifle in vitality. But things changed quickly when a male singer sang his heart out compelling the audience to clap to the beat of the song. He also danced, which made his act doubly delightful. There was no surprise in seeing that some members of the audience came in front of the stage and danced alongside the artist.

Then came another young vocalist, Ahmed Raza Khan. If one remembers correctly, Khan performed at another event earlier in the year at which he impressed music lovers. But on Saturday he kept his mouth too close to the microphone, which at times made his effort sound screechy. Make no mistake, he is a good artist. The key, however, lies in being effortless.

He was followed by a special act. Prof Shahbaz Ali appeared on stage for a harmonium solo. It is not easy to make the audience, Pakistani audience at that, sit still in their seats and listen to an instrumentalist. The professor’s performance was interesting on two counts: one, he and the harmonium seemed to be in love with each other; two, there was soulfulness in his playing.

Once Prof Shahbaz was done with his bit, Tehzeeb’s Sharif Awan spoke to the audience. Highlighting his endeavour in the field of music, he symbolically read out an N. M. Rashid poem. While his intention should be praised because he used the lines with the central metaphor of a dream to point out how those who sell dreams are treated in society, it’d have been better if he had asked someone else to recite the poem.

The penultimate act of the day was Wali Fateh Ali Khan’s gaeki, who originally hails from Afghanistan. The young man took such a long time even to begin his singing that it put off quite a few people. He was initially not satisfied with the lighting on stage, then he complained about sound-check, which he kept asking about even when he launched into an alaap. It was a pretty interesting spectacle.

The last performer of the day was Ustad Raza Ali Khan.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2018