This sounds like a match made in Pashto pop music heaven. Popular Pakistani vlogger Umar ‘Ukhano’ Khan recently released a version of his original composition Kaliwal [Villager], featuring Farhan Bogra from the instrumental band Khumariyaan and the vocal and production talents of the boys (ahem, now men) from Fortitude aka Pukhtoon Core.

Except for Ukhano, they’ve all been around on the local Pashto pop music scene for around 10-15-odd years, and have their own dedicated followings. Needless to say, they are incredibly talented.

While Kaliwal’s current version includes singing and vocalisations, the version that was released almost a year ago was an instrumental-only track. The older version features Hania Aamir as an accessory in the video, whose only job is to sway to the music. In the older version, you can hear the same signature riff-off that’s used in the newer one as well. Coupled with the percussions, it evokes a larger-than-life impression. Kaliwal would be a great soundtrack for an epic film.

Umar Khan composed the main riff of the song by himself on his rabab, and then worked on the rest of the track with Farhan Bogra. In the older version, he can be seen playing the rabab himself. In the second version, Farhan Bogra, who is also featured in the instrumental version, takes over the rabab completely.

Umar ‘Ukhano’ Khan’s Kaliwal would be a great soundtrack for an epic film

“I’ve been playing the rabab since 2013, but mostly for myself, my family etc,” says Umar. “I have a few rough recordings lying around. But this one I turned into a song. Also, you can’t strum the rabab like you can a guitar. It’s not easy to play it and sing along at the same time.”

In the latest version, his collaboration with the men behind Fortitude — Mustafa Kamal, Shahkar Alam Khan and Shumail Alam Khan — makes the song come to life. It goes from sounding like an instrumental soundtrack to an angsty youthful anthem. According to Umar, the lyrics of the song are about his struggles, this is his story. Kaliwal is most definitely a soundtrack, but of his life.

The rap is in a mix of Pashto, English and Urdu (a first for Fortitude). “They’ve been doing only Pashto, but I suggested that they should also start doing Urdu,” says Ukhano, adding that it was important for them to appeal to a wider audience, even those that didn’t necessarily understand Pashto. “They’ve been producing the beats for all of the major rappers, they’ve done soundtracks for Peshawar Zalmi, they’ve done so much work… but people don’t know about them,” adds Umar. Needless to say, that needs to change.

The lyrics are available on the song’s YouTube page. The main chorus has all of the collaborators’ fists raised in the air, singing in unison: Zama weena kariwal/ Day ke nishta sa sawal [My blood is from the village/ There is no question about it].

The Fortitude version has a different energy, different vibe and is addictive. It had even someone like me, a non-Pashto speaker singing ‘Zama weena kariwal’ with the group.

With Kariwal’s release, does Umar plan to cross over from vlogging into music? “Yes,” he confirms. “I’m working on a few other songs with Fortitude. They will be penning the lyrics for it. I want to explore this concept where everything we do, it’s become ‘content’ [for the internet/social media]. There’s a hook about this in the song — content hai/ content hai/content hai. Even if there’s an accident, instead of helping, people will be filming it.”

Indeed, in this day and age of social media, content is king.

Published in Dawn, ICON, April 25th, 2021