PESHAWAR: Several groups of folk artists and musicians found a good opportunity to entertain picnickers and local tourists during Eid holidays.

Most folk artists had already booked rooms in Swat, Galiyat and Dir to show their skills to tourists and earn a few bucks. The Afghan folk artists, based in Peshawar, also performed at panic spots where large number of visitors turned up during Eid.

Zafar Khan, a Pashto singer, told this scribe that for many local artists and musicians, Eid festival was a good opportunity to earn by performing live because most picnickers and tourists loved to enjoy live music.

He said that it had already become a regular feature that folk artists planned to spend a month or so in northern areas especially during Eid holidays. It fetched them handsome kitty, he added.

Sadiq Aridi, another singer, said that those artists, who could not afford to book rooms, were being picked up by the visitors and their expenses of food, stay and performance were borne by them.

Singer says most tourists like live performance on such occasions

“More than 12 noted folk artists, however, don’t like to perform live as they run their own YouTube channels and release their albums so earn a lot,” he said.

Karan Khan’s album released a day before Eidul Azha was rated among the top on social media while Haroon Bacha’s song also earned widespread popularity. Some instrumentalists released their own music albums while standup comedians including Ismail Shahid and Said Rahman Sheeno were still popular for their comic shows.

Rashid Ahmad Khan, chief of Hunari Tolana Welfare Society, told this scribe that Eid holidays always brought great opportunity for local artists. He said that no other platform was available in the city where local artists and musicians could perform and earn some money to feed their families.

He said that few groups of Afghan artists went to Afghanistan to celebrate their Eid with their relatives but most were hired by picnickers for live performance.

“Personally, I have released a Sufi poem by Laiqzada Laiq and also an album comprising folk songs. My fans have responded to it very well. About seven groups of local artists have been hired by visitors during Eid holidays. I think provincial tourism authority should facilitate musicians and performers by paying their room charges and other expenses,” said Mr Khan.

He said that female performers were at disadvantage as picnickers did not take the risk to hire them owing to security issues and only a few artists released their new albums on social media.

Peshawarites also turned as usual to cinema houses to enjoy new and old Pashto flicks, not all theatres screened movies while a few arranged live shows.

Mass Khan, a senior musician, said that Eid was followed by wedding season. He said that it also fetched local artists some money as most often people loved live performance despite modern tools. “The trend is rising where a group of musicians performs live surrounded by audience as it used to be in the past during wedding ceremony” he added.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2023