KARACHI: It always lifts the spirits of music lovers when a singer, relatively lesser known, surprises them with his powerful voice, controlled pitch and an uncanny understanding of when and where to diversify expression as per the composition he wants listeners to immerse themselves in.

It happened on the 15th Tehzeeb Festival at the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) when Ahmed Raza Khan, the third performer at the concert, presented raga Hameer with artistic panache. He seems to be a star in the making in Pakistani classical music provided he’s given, like Tehzeeb Festival did on Saturday, enough chances to put his talent on display.

He was more than successfully able to relay to the receptive audience the finer points of such form of singing — harkatein, murkiyan (tonal embellishments) and staying within the confines of the raga to maintain or augment its melodic essence. Most of all, he hit both the higher and lower notes with effortless ease. In the latter case, it is important for any vocalist to do the riyaz (exercise) as much as he can, and Khan appears to have done that. He also sang a kafi but did not try to overstay his welcome on stage.

The evening began with Mehak Rashid’s rendition of raga Alhaya Bilawal. She is now a well-recognised singer who puts a lot of heart and soul into her art. She set the tone for the show in a nice way.

Art enthusiasts gather at Napa to enjoy an evening of classical music

The festival was then transported to an uber rhythmic zone with the arrival of tabla player Haroon Samuel. Before his appearance on stage, Tehzeeb Festival’s Sharif Awan told the audience that the event through its programmes scheduled for two days is paying tribute to two great tabla artists Ustad Umar Hayat Khan (Saturday) and Ustad Bashir Khan (Sunday). Samuel played jhaptal (containing 10 beats) on his tabla. It was wonderful to hear him.

It was no less heartening to see a lot of youngsters present at Napa’s Zia Mohyeddin Theatre appreciating every important turn of the beat cycle.

The aforementioned Ahmed Raza Khan was next, followed by the renowned banjo player Ustad Mumtaz Sabzal whose presentation of raga Des was equally well received. He is a humble soul who always educates the audience before beginning his stint on stage. For example, this time around he informed them the instrument that he plays doesn’t allow him to do things like meendh (glide) and gamak (note oscillation), and yet when he played the raag, it never felt the case. He is very good.

The final item on the programme list was an exclusive recording for the festival of dhrupad vocal by Niloy Ahsan Zulaqarnain from Bangladesh.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2025