KARACHI: Lovers of music were treated to an impressive playlist of Punjabi songs on Sunday evening sung by Sawera Ali, who had especially flown in from Lahore to take part in the National Academy of Performing Arts’ (Napa) ongoing first Women’s Festival.

Although the programme was highlighted as ‘Punjabi folk renditions’, the vocalist presented a decent range of numbers, including films songs made immortal by none other than the late Noor Jehan.

Sawera began by singing Sajna raah tera tak tak haariyan from the movie Jatt Mirza. She sang it pretty well. It’s not an easy track to master. The second song, too, wasn’t simple enough to perform. It was Ki dam da bharosa yaar from the film Sakhi Badshah. By this time it was evident that the vocalist was comfortable hitting higher notes and worked harder on the lower ones. The result was good.

Then came the well-known number Main te mera dilbar jani. At that point in time the audience, which were sparse considering the fact that it was a holiday, were completely invested in the concert. Some of them had begun clapping to the beat. Sensing what the attendees were swaying to, Sawera’s next offering was the extremely popular Sayuni mera maahi. It was an instant hit. No different was the case with Dildar sadqey. One should be reminded that while these songs sound easy to perform, they are not uncomplicated compositions. Therefore, the young artist must be commended for her effort.

In between the performances, she asked the audience what they would like to hear. A couple of requests came her way. The first one that she presented complying with the farmayesh was Laiyan laiyan. Next up was a track of her own choosing, Rab jaaney after which she sang a few more famous songs such as Maahi aavey ga and Kaindey ne naina. They were warmly received.

One was really impressed with the remarkable set of musicians that accompanied Sawera Ali on stage, led by Salman Nazeer (on keyboard). The band, especially its percussionist, was absolutely superb. The kind of tunes that she was singing required a highly professional group of instrumentalists. But they went a step ahead and amplified the effect of the show beautifully with their brilliant musicianship. It was a special experience listening to them.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2024