KARACHI: The National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa), as part of its ongoing programmes, put together from Friday to Sunday a music series titled Sub Rung.

The event was divided into three parts: on Friday, Kaliyaan featured performances by the recent graduates and senior students of Napa’s music department; on Saturday, classical music was presented by the academy’s faculty in a show called Gulcheen; and on Sunday, a classical fusion concert named Guldasta by the Lahore-based renowned musicians was held.

Before the start of the programme, the chief executive officer of the academy, Junaid Zuberi, took to stage and informed the guests about the spirit of the show.

He also introduced to them sarangi player Dr Taimur Khan as the new head of the music department at Napa. He added musicologist and authors of many books on music Shahid Syed Mohammad is now the adviser to the department.

Performers include senior students, recent graduates and faculty members

The event was nicely arranged. The young musicians who performed on Friday did a reasonably good job. Bearing in mind that they are inexperienced and still learning, some of them did a lovely job, such as an instrumental on bansuri performed by Jagdish Kumar. The young man looked a trifle nervous and in a hurry to finish his stint on stage, but one could feel and sense his passion and love for music. Some of the notes that he played were mellifluous. If he can learn to channel his talent the way it merits, he has a bright future.

Zeeshan Zafar’s version of Mehdi Hasan’s Yun zindagi ki raah mein was also good. It would be worthwhile if members of faculty taught the young ones the difference between a ghazal and a geet (the piece was announced as a ghazal). Not that it matters during the act of singing, but an understanding of the different types of Urdu poetry helps you a great deal in getting the rhythm of a poem right.

The show was also embellished with thumris and semi-classical material. A total of 19 performances by 15 artists kept the audience engaged. They wholeheartedly applauded the boys and girls who took part in the gig.

The next two days featured eminent musicians.

On Saturday, among those who performed included Dr Taimur Khan, Ustad Mehmood Ali Khan and Ustad Bashir Khan; and on Sunday, Zohaib Hassan, Kashif Ali Dani and Akmal Qadri’s names were on the performers’ list.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2022