PESHAWAR: Senior Pashto singer Suriya Khanum aka Mahjabeen Qazalbash has showed displeasure over the dwindling standard of folk music and asked the young artists to produce quality stuff by instilling the true spirit of singing.

In a recent with this scribe, she dwelt upon a number of issues regarding Pashto folk music and showed concerns over the falling standard of folk singers, who depended only on computer generated music and did not try to learn the basics of music from seniors.

Mahjabeen Qazalbash said that there was a good space for female artists but hard work and learning from Ustads were perquisites if they wanted to carve out a niche in a music career that would stay long with their names ever shining. Folk singers should know strength of the live music, she added.

Mahjabeen Qazalbash asks budding singers to produce quality music

The artist has earned several titles and has many prestigious awards to her credit. She has represented Pakistan in the US, UK, Germany and Gulf States. She has produced numerous albums and also her hit Pashto songs run into hundreds.

Known as melody queen, Ms Qazalbash besides Pashto has sung in Urdu, Persian, Turkish, Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi, Hindko and Seraiki.

The senior artist asked the music directors and budding folk singers to produce quality music as it played a significant role in shaping the outlook of people towards a balanced and tasteful society.

She said that she still did two hours practice on daily basis and never accepted a music project that robbed her of art and high standards. “Music is a spiritual education, not just a mental luxury. It should convey a message and purify the souls,” she added.

Recalling her entry into the arena of music, Ms Qazalbash said that her family had been migrated from Iran and settled in Peshawar, Kocha Risaldar as her father late Imdad Ali Qazalbash had contracted third marriage with a Pakhtun lady from Badbher.

She said that she was in 8th grade when her schoolteacher took her along with some other children to Radio Pakistan, Peshawar for recoding national songs.

Arbab Abdul Wadood Khan a programme producer invited her to sing a Pashto folk after noted music director Rafiq Shinwari approved of her magic voice and recorded her first ever song.

The senior artist said that she played a central role in a Pashto film ‘Sher Alam Mamonai’ and also anchored TV shows and acted out different roles in TV dramas but singing became her mainstay.

Ms Qazalbash said that her ideal was Madam Noor Jahan but noted singers Gulnar Begum, Kishawar Sultan, Mashooq Sultan and Khial Mohammad remained dear to her heart. She said that young folk singers should not depend too much on computer music and should learn the delicacies of music.

She said that she had sung poetry of the finest and classic Pashto poets from Khushal Khan Khattak, Rahman to Hamza Baba, Prof Mohammad Azam Azam and a few other good contemporary bards.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2019