It is a sorry state when we have to admit that as a nation we have not done much for children’s entertainment in general Having said that, Grips Theatre is one such theatre group, set up in the 1980s, which specialises in children’s plays. So it wasn’t much of a surprise when Khaled Anum decided to make songs and stories for children. A delightful programme was arranged at a local hotel in which two CDs by the composer, actor and singer were launched by EMI and all of the Grip’s Theatre artistes, except for Faiza Kazi, were present at the launch.

Imran Aslam, who has adapted German plays for the group (which also performs plays for adults), said on the occasion that Khaled Anum is good at everything that he does.

Ameed Riaz pointed out that although the purpose for the CDs was to highlight the Urdu language, the programme was being conducted in English, a fact which reminded him of a joke about mixed feelings for a mother-in-law who fell over a cliff driving in a Ferrari. He said Khaled was extremely versatile and on his first day at rehearsal he saw the late Yasmeen Ismail scolding him for not having a song ready for the rehearsal. “Khaled promptly went to a corner, composed and wrote the song in 15 minutes flat. And it was fantastic. That’s how good he is,” he said.

Sajeeruddin added that Khaled was wearing a pink shirt and trousers when they first met on the sets. “It’s been a pleasure to know him since then.” He then started singing a Grips song Bohat dino ki baat hai… in which Khaled and Ayesha, the conductor of the programme, also joined in, livening up the atmosphere with the impromptu performance.

After hearing his friends whom he has known and worked with for more than 25 years, Khaled remarked that he now knew how his obituary would sound. “The reason for making these CDs was that our children need to learn Urdu and pronounce Urdu words properly. Sadly they are deprived of this as our focus is on other things. I have good friends who have helped me with this.”

Khaled Anum who has been given an award by PTV for simultaneously being the only actor, composer, singer, lyricist and compere in the A category, has pursued his passion for children’s entertainment for the past three decades by producing programmes such as Alif Se Ye, Hamari Shaam, Bachchay, Khwaab Aur Gulab and The Didi Show for PTV. He has also adapted more than 100 episodes of Sesame Street, providing the music, translation and dubbing for the various characters. He was invited by the German Consulate to attend a theatre festival in Berlin this year, to acknowledge his contribution to German theatre in Pakistan.

With these CDs, EMI has launched its Children’s Division, targeting young audiences and instilling education and culture through music, poetry and stories as edutainment tools and reviving the art of storytelling. Ray Se Rail Chali contains songs and delves into a world of fantasy and also focuses on the subject of hygiene, good behaviour and the importance of our national language.