KARACHI: The 2021 edition of the All Pakistan Music Conference (APMC) having the theme Abb Ke Sawan (This rainy season) ended on Sunday night on the conference’s YouTube channel with a masterful performance of raga Megh by Ustad Fateh Ali Khan.

As can be gauged from the theme of the event, the raga picked by the ustad, as by the sitar player on the first day of the event, is to do with the monsoons. It is signified by a languid movement of the melody aided by gently applied (sung or played) notes. Khan Sahib did exactly that. His performance was controlled; and at the same time even in the areas where he needed to improvise he did not go overboard because the tune demanded the mood (of the season) to be sustained.

Ustad Fateh Ali Khan is a giant in Eastern classical music. He is the son of Ghulam Rasool Khan and nephew of Ustad Umeed Ali Khan from both of whom he acquired education in music. The organisers of the performance have rightly called him “the torch-bearer of the Gwalior gharana in Pakistan”. During his gaeki, the ustad was accompanied on stage by Ustad Bashir Khan (tabla), Mohammad Hayat (harmonium), Gul Mohammad (sarangi), Izzat Ali Khan (support vocals) and Wajid Ali (tanpura).

Talking to Dawn about the challenges and importance of holding the conference in the pandemic-hit times, Ayla Raza of the APMC said, “It has been our most awaited event not just for the audiences but for the artists who look forward to it [every year]. We felt bad we weren’t able to do it [properly] in these times because of the off and on imposing or lifting of lockdowns. So, we decided that we should do it the way we’ve been doing virtual baithaks throughout the year — record the sessions and put them on.

“I feel the form is changing a bit. The ambience of a show is created by both the audience and the artists. These are very introspective kind of performances, I guess closer to the riyaz [practice] that artists do,” she added.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2021