Pakistani and Afghan singers have come together in an artistic endeavour to express solidarity with Afghan artists and musicians who are yet again facing a repressive regime that has the audacity to announce a blanket ban on liberal and performing arts, especially music.
The Taliban captured Kabul on 15 August 2021, and one of the first steps they took to implement their interpretation of sharia, even before the complete US evacuation, was that they enforced blanket ban on music and female voices on television and radio.
Since then, there have been numerous reports about how musical instruments are being destroyed across the country, and how many artists have fled the country or are ready to leave.
In times of such uncertainty and crisis, in a bid to celebrate Afghan cultural heritage and music, a Pakistani and Afghan singer have teamed up to send love letters to Kabul using the universal language of music.
Renowned Pakistani singer Zeb Bangash joined hands with Canada-based Afghan singer Shumali Afghan to create this musical letter of love to Kabul, a song in Dari named Yaar Dami Bashno, or ‘Love Letters to Kabul.
Zeb, who has also sung a few songs for Bollywood, earned her name in music during the last many years in Pakistan. Shumali Afghan, who belongs to a musician family of Afghanistan, and had moved to Canada as an adolescent.
“Me and Shumali were scheduled to do a song in Coke Studio before the pandemic hit the world”, Zeb told The Truth International (TTI). “The Coronavirus prevented us from doing so. However, when Shumali visited Pakistan in December 2020, we recorded together, which was actually a tribute to the folk music of Afghanistan”.
One of their songs is Dari whereas two other songs are in Pashto, Zeb added.
The song in Dari is the composition of one of the renowned musicians of Afghanistan, Ustad Ghulam Dastagir Shida, who also introduced a Bollywood touch in the Afghan traditional music.
Explaining the context of “Love Letter to Kabul”, Zeb said that the song was a melancholic one, in which a lover is trying to get attention of his beloved by sending a message to have mercy on him and if not meeting at least listen about his pain.
Zeb further explained she wanted to bring a beautiful thing from Kabul in these times. “I know that when there is turmoil in any country, people all over the world discuss that country with only one aspect, ignoring its beautiful history and tradition”.
In the context of the current situation in Afghanistan, which developed after the Taliban takeover of Kabul, Zeb said, “When I saw people fleeing from the country in distress, I realised that Afghanistan was going to be just a flashing news for the rest of the world.
“Then I decided to present something from my side which is related to tradition, history and spirituality of this region. I had earlier decided to release ‘Love Letter to Kabul’ in October but due to recent events in the country, it was released a month earlier.”
The two Pashto songs will be released soon, she added.
Zeb believes the current situation is very difficult for the art and artists in Afghanistan, and a continuation of the circumstances of the 1980s during the Afghan war when artists had to seek refuge in Pakistan.
“Artists are the most sensitive section of any society”, says the crooner. “They are affected the most in this type of crisis, but at the same time they are the most resilient species.”
Zeb hopes for peace and harmony for Afghanistan and its people in these difficult times. “I am an artist and always wish to keep my connection with the public.”
She is unbending that art can never be suppressed, and if suppressed, it springs back with even more force. “So when people get a beautiful thing from an artist, they naturally give feedback. This is inevitable. Culture never dies.”
Speaking from Canada, Shumali Afghan, told The Truth International (TTI) he wanted to bring back the real taste of cultural music created in the 1970s Kabul.
“Back in 1979, my father Ustad Shahwali Afghan used to sing these songs at Zeb’s home, when the Soviet Union took over Afghanistan and a vast majority of musicians came to the city of Peshawar in Pakistan for their livelihood. Zeb and I wanted to connect back and sing these classical songs once sung by our elders at her house.”
Afghan also wishes to give a try to an Urdu duet with Zeb someday.
“It might be at my family home! Yes family home where all our elders used to gather for musical evenings. Smiles! Also Zeb is helping me to pronounce Urdu words correctly so that I can sing some good Urdu songs in the future.” The singer is too bothered about these difficult times in Afghani- stan, and hope the people will get out of it soon, “Indeed our brothers and sisters are going through rough and tough times in Kabul, displaced, struggling to find a way out. But I am hoping they can settle down in the neighbouring countries in these trying times.”
