PESHAWAR: Popular Pashto folk singer Gulzar Alam launched his own academy and audio studio named ‘Awaz’ in Khyber Super Market, Saddar, here on Tuesday. Mr Alam also launched an organisation ‘Pakhto Hunaree Tolana’ (PHT) for the welfare of artists and singers.

Speaking as chief guest at the launching ceremony, noted Pashto poet Rahmat Shah Sail said that the need for an art academy was long felt in Peshawar. He said that opening an academy and audio studio would prove a milestone towards protecting and preserving the traditional Pashto music. He said that upcoming young artists would greatly benefit from the project.

Gulzar Alam said that opening an academy was his great desire so that the young singers could know about the real Pashto music. “I was fed up with substandard music. My aim is to protect and revive traditional Pashto music and raise a strong voice for the genuine rights of my artists community. Abdullah, a resident of Taru Jaba village near Peshawar, is my first student; he is also studying at the University of Peshawar,” Mr Alam said.

He said that CD culture had destroyed the Pashto music in the name modernity. He said that it not only harmed quality music, but also the quality of Pashto poetry suffered. “Now I want to save artists and art as both were suffering. I would launch a private endowment fund to help senior artists and singers,” he said.

Gulzar Alam says his aim is to preserve music, raise voice for the artists’ rights

Mr Abdullah told Dawn that he was in search of a perfect ‘ustad’ (teacher). He said that he was proud to be the first student at the academy where he would learn about history and art of singing. “Like me there are many young students who want to learn singing and playing traditional instruments like rabab, tabla, flute and harmonium, but they were not finding a place where training programme could be arranged,” he said.

Mr Alam announced that regular classes for young artists would be started after 10th of Muharram. Young and educated people would be encouraged to take music classes, he said. Instrumentalists and vocalists would be taught Pashto music, the folk singer explained. “I am not against modern music, but I want to save the original Pashto music because it is the symbol of my Pakhtun identity,” he argued.

“Launching such a project should be the responsibility of provincial culture department. Both art and artists have suffered a lot at the hands of militancy. I appreciate the efforts of Gulzar Alam who has always tried to save original Pashto music and raised voice for the welfare of artists,” Mr Sail maintained.

Young singer Karan Khan said that Pashto music was being ruined in the name of modernity. He pointed out that artistes and singers had no voice to secure their genuine rights. The ‘Awaz’ academy, he said, would become a real voice of the art and artists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Music director AR Anwar said that he had been running a studio in Karachi since 1980 to revive the traditional Pashto music. He said artists and singers could do so if they became serious about it.

Octogenarian Pashto singer Ahmad Gul Ustad said that he would impart training to the young learners whenever they required, adding that Pashto music needed perfect ‘ustads’ to preserve and revive it in its original form.

He said that serious poets and writers turned away from Pashto music industry due to its stress on too much commercialism. He said that most Pakhtuns knew that traditional music was an art, but only few knew about its basic science.

Young researcher Noorul Amin Yousafzai regretted that serious efforts were not made for preservation of traditional Pashto music.

He said that the art academy coupled with audio studio would definitely improve the situation. He asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to extend help to the private venture of the artists. The singers and poets who spoke on the occasion included Sarfaraz, Khalid Malik, Anwar Khial, Maaz Khan Wisal, Kamal Khan, Afsar Afghan and Israr Atal.

Published in Dawn, October 29th , 2014