KARACHI: Two major aid events — one at Karachi Gymkhana and the other at Burns Gardens — participated by renowned musicians of the country took place in the city on Sunday evening whose ticket sales will go to relief efforts for those affected by flash floods.

An exceedingly well-attended concert organised by the Arts Council of Pakistan at Karachi Gymkhana had a big number of young boys and girls, not to mention a considerable number of not-so-young men and women, eagerly waiting to listen to some of popular singers, especially Asim Azhar who was instrumental in arranging the gig.

They began to pour into the verdant venue from as early as 7.30pm where they were initially entertained by a couple of upcoming musicians, one of which was the band called Jam Broz representing the Arts Council. They sang a medley of Pakistani and Bollywood songs, such as Hum kis gali ja rahey hain, Duri sahi jaey na, Yeh dil deewana, Ban ja zara matlabi, Hawayein and the qawwali piece Kaali kaali zulfon ke phandey.

They were followed by a solo artist Ibrahim Sulayman who crooned the romantic numbers Dil ko qarar aaya, Hawayein and Main tenu samjhavan.

Then came the first big gun of the evening Natasha Baig. She started off with Maula and then swiftly moved to the nazm by Iqbal Kyun ziyan kaar banun for which she is these days receiving appreciation on social media. The singer seems to have a penchant for Urdu poetry, especially the didactic sort composing which is no mean feat. She followed it up with a tribute to the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan by presenting his Saanson ki maala and Dam mast qalandar in her style. She also performed a track from her album Khirad.

The famous hip-hop artist Raamis Ali was the next act who prompted even those that find it hard to dance in public to sway and swing with free spiritedness. His short tracks on unrequited love were pretty cool and rounded off his stay on stage by covering Indian singer Badshah’s Yeh larki pagal hai. It was fun.

Aima Baig, another well-known vocalist from the Pakistan music industry, despite sounding a bit lackadaisical in the beginning, entertained the crowd with the track Bazi which she originally sang on Coke Studio with Sahir Ali Bagga. The audience knew the song well. She got into her groove with the song Main item number nahin karun gi from the film Teefa In Trouble. Much to the pleasant surprise of some of the senior audience members, when Aima sang Gulabi aankhein jo teri dekhein, an old Mohammad Rafi film song, many youngsters sang it with her.

Asim Azhar and Young Stunners were the final two performers of the evening.

Burns Garden

Another fundraising function titled Coming Together was held at the historic Burns Gardens. It was a rather elaborate all-day arrangement with different stalls having products (books, paintings, totem bags etc) sales/donations of which would go to relief efforts for flood affectees. A musical concert was scheduled for late evening.

Talking to Dawn, Taimur Rehman of Laal band, who had especially flown in from Lahore for the fundraiser, said, “Floods have destroyed the lives of millions of people, so whatever could be done to provide them with some relief is significant. Also, another importance of it is that culture, music and art bring people together, it gives us a sense of community and solidarity. Those who make musical instruments and in turn make our lives beautiful, they also get a chance to put their talent on display.”

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2022