PESHAWAR: A brother-sister duo of Pashto folk singers hailing from a noted musician family of Nowshera district became a social media sensation due to their decent performances and quality stuff.

The young Pashto folk singers -- Ahmad Ali Jan aka Janan and Sheena Gul -- while defying a long social taboo made a singing pair few years ago that garnered widespread appreciation for quality expression and carrying on their family music legacy.

The brother-sister duo toured to UAE, Qatar and Afghanistan many a time for live performance and wanted to contribute to traditional Pashto music despite odds.

The family of the duo has produced several folk singers and music composers. The brother-sister pair claimed to be the first in the recent history of Pashto folk music.

Quite contrary to the social traditions, of 12 siblings, they had in their early childhood set a target before themselves to launch singing career together and their parents left no stone unturned in fulfilling their cherished dream.

Janan and Sheena Gul want to contribute to Pashto music despite odds

A day came when the teenage duo performed in a family gathering and it proved to be a launching pad for the young promising artists.

Mr Janan recalled that he being the second among his siblings had a strong passion for singing and his father Sultanat Ustad, also a harmonium player, imparted the basics training to him and later on also became tutor of his younger sister Sheena Gul, a 9th grader under a private tutor.

“My father launched me as a child singer when I was 13-year-old and most fans would call me Janan Mashoom. Growing up, I thought why not make a duo of brother and sister, the idea was clicked with my parents and Sheena Gul also learnt lessons on music and soon we paired for quality and decent performance,” the artist elaborated.

Talking about her music career, Sheena Gul said that she could play harmonium but singing was her forte and picked up quality poetic pieces. She said that her flail for singing matched her brother and their duo would continue as long as their fans wanted them to be.

“Being an extended family, we are in need of financial support because my father is now old and sick. Janan and I together attend only decent events. We are five brothers and seven sisters. Our passion is music and we want to contribute to our Pakhtun community through ways and means that correspond to our norms,” said Ms Gul.

She said that they had no threats from anyone.

“We need security and a humble monetary assistance with which we could feed and serve our large family, especially ailing parents. Sheena Gul and I love our art and would continue carrying it ahead. We depend on our simple traditional orchestra comprising artists namely Ghafar Ustad harmonium player, Jan tabla player, Zafar keyboard player and myself piano player,” said Janan.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2019