The voices of a nation

On my first-ever trip to Pakistan, I found myself at Illusions in Islamabad. It is one of those cool, glass-walled music stores with all the latest HBO shows advertised at the front. “Where are the classical artists?” I asked. I had strict instructions from my mother to locate old, classical works.

She had trained as a classical singer in her youth only to take up medicine as a more practical career option.

Growing up in a freshly partitioned India, tutored by some of the best vocalists in the country, my mother had watched in dismay as some of her favourite singers migrated to Pakistan. It was a loss she never overcame. It seemed as if Mehdi Hassan, Iqbal Bano and Noor Jehan took with them her ambition to join their ranks.

Of course, some Pakistani musicians have successfully crossed over in recent years, including Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and bands such as Junoon. But the best voices from the past failed to reach my generation.

I was unable to relate to this alien list of artists whose music I had been asked to collect, but at the same time, I was curious to know what “the other side” was listening to these days. My friend suggested I start with the basics.

Currently, everybody is listening to the Coke Studio Sessions, an artists’ collective that was brought together by Umber and Rohail Hyatt, who also founded one of the country’s first bands, Vital Signs. The pair has been credited for this unifying series in a time when the country is plagued by political strife and terrorism. It has captured a nation’s imagination and bridged a yawning generation gap.

These live music sessions broadcast on television are Pakistan’s pride and joy. It’s a series of concerts played by some of the best contemporary artists, alongside classical singers who recreate popular songs of yore, while lyrics penned by Sufi saints get a fresh set of drums and strings.

From the female duo Zeb & Haniya to the pop singers Atif Aslam and Noori, from Riaz Ali Khan and Javed Bashir to Ali Hamza and Saieen Zahoor – all bring their bit of magic.

The internet has been instrumental in spreading the word among those homesick for some local tunes. Hyatt has 2,000 fans on Facebook and some of the songs posted on YouTube have more than 30,000 hits.

The amount of hits signals a positive shift and indicates that the next generation of Pakistanis are looking to renew their sense of culture.