LAHORE, Feb 17: An evening was held at the Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture on Thursday in memory of noted music composer Mian Shehryar.

The evening was presided over by playwright and writer Mustansar Husain Tarar, where a number of film and TV personalities and singers paid a tribute to Mian Shehryar. A few singers also sang songs composed by the late musician.

Mr Tarar read out a paper on Mian Shehryar and shared with the audience some memories. He said Shehryar was a person whose company always provided him with moments of happiness. “He was not only a musician but also had a deep observation of the socio-political scene of the country as well,” said Tarar who added that Mian Sahib rubbed shoulders with the best musicians of his times.

PILAC Director Dr Sughra Sadaf said Mian Shehryar was an asset to the music world of this country as his novel compositions, dedication towards his work and the way he introduced new voices to the music scene in Pakistan was something which should be written in golden words.

Dr Amjad Pervaiz threw light on the late musician’s life and work. He said Shehryar was a genius when it came to music compositions including those for Indian films. It was he who introduced Naseem Begum to the world of music, he said.

He said Mian Shehryar’s compositions included “Aye watan kay sajeelay jawano” and demanded that the government preserve the rich collection of recordings of his own compositions.

Pakistan Television Deputy Managing Director Shahid Nadeem said Shehryar gave eternal life to some of PTV music programmes by his compositions. He said Ajoka’s play Bullah had six or seven kafis composed by the late maestro.

Critic and researcher Dr Omar Adil pointed out PTV’s insensitive attitude towards Mian Shehryar and said Mian Sahib gave almost whole of his life to PTV which should pay him back by reviving some of his programmes.

Singer Shaukat Ali also paid rich tributes to Shehryar and said Mian Sahib’s biggest contribution was composition of Burda Sharif in five languages. He also offered ‘fateha’ for him.

Ajoka’s Madeeha Gauhar announced that it would stage Bullah on Feb 21 at Alhamra Art Center to pay a tribute to Mian Shehryar.