Drummers
perform during the 5th Amritsar-Lahore Saanjh Festival in
Amritsar
.
Photo
by Vishal Kumar
The drum beats of
Lahore-based Panjpāni group featuring 22 dholis (drummers) of
international fame, headed by Pappu Saaen, wove a magic with its
rhythmic sounds and left the audience spellbound at the 5th Amritsar-Lahore
Saanjh Festival-2008 held here last evening in
Amritsar
.
Lahori artistes took
the centre stage with Ustad Hamid Ali Khan of
Patiala
gharana and Saaen Zahoor casting a spell with their classical and folk
singing. Attired in black and golden robes, Zahoor, who has a unique
style of singing the traditional poetry accompanied with an iktara,
started his kalaam with Allah Hoo, a typical earthy style, which
captivated the big audience. Zahoor, who had won 2006 BBC world music
award, has travelled abroad and enthralled world audiences.
Saeen Zahoor
Giving the message of love, peace and harmony, Zahoor said he always
prayed for warm relations between the two countries, which had
embittered the past and the artistes were trying to apply balm to the
hurt psyche with a common thread of culture and tradition.
Ustad Hamid Ali, son
of famous classical singer Ustad Akbar Hussain Khan, also fascinated the
audience with his singing. The classical singing of Hamid won hearts of
the crowd in the
Spring
Dale
Senior
School
complex.
The performance of
Junoon Kuchh Kar Dikhane Ka-fame Akbar Ali, young folk singer Ashraf Ali
with famous Punjabi singer Lakhwinder Wadāli, was applauded by the
audience.
Earlier, the festival
organised by Punar-jot in association with the Rafi Peer Theatre
Workshop,
Lahore
, was inaugurated by information and public relations minister Sardar
Bikram Singh Majithia by lighting the lamp.
The co-founder and
spirit behind the Saanjh festival, Usmān Peerzada, a noted
Pakistani TV star and theatre artiste, speaking on the occasion said the
artistes of both countries should enhance the canvass of this festival
to encompass people of
Pakistan
and
India
and project it as an Indo-Pak festival.
Faizān Peezada
of the Rafi Peer Group said Saanjh made a humble beginning six years ago
with a handful of artistes performing in front of a small group, today
he was pleased to see a large group had turned out to enjoy the evening
bringing in cultural renaissance of both countries.
[Courtesy:
The Tribune October 20 2008
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