I remember my husband’s Greek-American sister-in-law – Lea Ahmed – commenting how Pakistanis love to break out into singing at any gathering- no excuse needed. I thought was such a great observation. And then I remembered that other cultures too have their love affair with music, and maybe it is a universal human yearning to sing about beauty, and by singing create more beauty. I remember conducting a workshop in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and as is custom, there was a big team dinner afterward at a restaurant. No sooner had the meal finished, and people started singing and banging on the table with spoons, knives, anything to add to the rhythm. The experience allowed me to truly feel the Brazilian culture and remember its core value of “be happy”!
In the Subcontinent, and especially Pakistanis, music and poetry are inextricably linked. Deep, meaningful “ghazals” are sung, as the audience resonates, sways, loudly appreciates and requests redos of a verse! Classical ragas are sung, and the audience hangs on every note and twist and turn, feeling the beauty of human creativity and talent, and moving hands, heads in unplanned unison. “Kawwalis” arouse people’s spiritual yearning with loud chorus style singing along with vigorous, rhythmic hand-clapping- I remember running to Manhattan to hear Sabri Brothers- one of the earliest kawwali groups to come to NYC- in the 70’s even though I had fever! Movie songs and themes are sung awakening all kinds of memories, which is very special and sentimental for people who mostly came here as students or young newlyweds- for me it’s the Beatles or Rolling Stones, but that’s because I grew up here! For as long as I can remember, we all have hosted or been invited to such gatherings whether in hotels or friends’ homes – I dare not list the friends’ names as I may forget some, but they know who they are, and we are all grateful that we have this common passion to celebrate together over decades!
So when my samdhan Fauzia Syed, also known as Queen of Music, hosted a surprise birthday party last weekend for my samdhi, Javaid Syed, also known as King of Food, we knew we were in for a royal treat, literally and figuratively. The Syeds take the unwritten rules of Pakistani entertaining to new heights; “there must be much more food than people” “there must be tons of variety” and “of course, never shall we run out of food or we shall be dishonored”! Catered from a special place in Brooklyn, it included delicacies such as parathas, pulao, kebabs, kari, palak, korma, etc etc. Dessert is served later, as the music session has to begin, and it takes time to create the right ambiance, also known in Urdu as “Mehfil jamana”, literally translated “gelling the gathering”. And mind you, sometimes it never gels, for one reason or another- it is a combination of the singer’s engagement with the audience, technical smoothness of equipment etc, and of course the “saman” or mood the hosts have created. Music is of course Fauzia’s passion, and she loves to patronize and develop young singers from Pakistan who are either starting out or already famous in their genre of music. And last Saturday was one such mesmerizing evening, as we all enjoyed S. Jehan’s performance deep into the night. Fauzia sat on the floor- surrounded by her loving cousins from Brooklyn (and getting brief massages for her back occasionally) right in front of S. Jehan, to build the rapport and truly enjoy the session. It was like a movie director sitting right in front of an actor, encouraging and guiding them. We all sat on the floor or chairs, but could not take our eyes off the performance- it was so engaging. Occasionally, we would even sway and sing along as she sang famous songs of Nur Jehan, a very famous Pakistani singer, who she was distantly related to. As we drove home that night at 2 am, I was so grateful to our culture, our arts, our lasting passion for that culture and the patrons that continue to nurture it.
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