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Srinagar: Sujit Singh
couldn't have wished for a better honeymoon. With night stars
twinkling above, serene blue water all around, the romantic aura
was heightened by soulful melodies wafting towards his houseboat
as it bobbed gently on the Dal Lake. He was one of the lucky few
who witnessed Kashmir rekindle its musical past after a gap of 20
years.
Reliving the past tradition, the organisers of the musical show
engaged a houseboat towed by motor boats deep into Dal Lake here
as a group of local musicians and singers enthralled the select
audience late Friday evening.
Scores of locals lined up at the Boulevard Road circling the lake
for the event, which saw a partnership between Fankar
International, a US-based non-profit organisation, and the local
sound studio, Soundkraft.
"Kashmir has a tradition of houseboats being engaged by music
lovers. Affluent people would engage houseboats for a day or so
and would listen to the local singers whom they paid handsome
compensations for their performances," a hotelier on the Boulevard
Road told IANS.
"As music and arts had few patrons in the past, the Dal Lake
excursions, as these were called, encouraged the performers and
also gave them a bit of financial support," he said. This lofty
tradition almost ended with the outbreak of violence in the
Kashmir Valley in the 1990s.
"Artists, singers and musicians withdrew into the safety of their
homes because life went out of gear for nearly two decades," he
added.
The hotelier said he took pictures of the magical night and mailed
them to his children in the US.
"I sent a small message with those pictures to my children saying
Kashmir's glory had perhaps returned," he said.
Many tourists living in floating palaces (houseboats) on the water
got into boats or 'Shikaras' to chase the slow moving houseboat
emitting mesmerising music.
"We were simply amazed to see the spectacle. I have never heard
such soothing music and such wonderful voices all my life," said
Sujit Singh, who is here on a honeymoon with wife Simran.
Asmat Ashai, the patron of Fankar International, said the aim of
her organisation is to keep the Kashmiri music and language alive.
"It is not a matter of nationality. It is a question of identity
and for Kashmiris there is no better way to keep their ethnicity
and identity alive than its promotion through music. Music is the
universal language that knows no borders.
"In the US, it is not only the small Kashmiri community that loves
this music but encouragingly, more and more Americans are showing
interest," Ashai said.
During the over three-hour performance, the organisers also
released an instrumental CD as a tribute to a local santoor player
who passed away some time ago.
Keeping the local tradition alive, saffron Kehwa tea from a
steaming Kashmiri samovar and the famous Pampore bread called the
shermaal were served to the artists and the audience before the
performance.
Some well-known local singers like Muneer Mir, Shazia Bashir,
Zahin, Irfan and Bilal sang Kashmiri numbers while Ronnie Malley,
an American music director and art promoter, played 'Oud' -- a
Middle Eastern string instrument.
"It is amazing. The other day I met these people in the Soundkraft
studio and their talent impressed me. Although I do not understand
the local language, I have no difficulty in understanding the
music they play and I appreciate its quality and universal reach,"
Ronnie told IANS.
Naseer Ahmad, the owner of Soundkraft studio, said his
organisation has a permanent association with Fankar International
to promote Kashmiri music and arts.
Also released at the function were CDs of some Kashmiri music
maestros like Raj Begum, Naseem Begum and Gulam Hassan Sofi.
"Inshallah, we shall have more of such performances at Dal Lake in
the future to rekindle the music and magic of Kashmir," Ahmad
said.
"Dal Lake excursions are a part of our heritage and we are simply
trying to remind ourselves of our glorious past," said Ahmad, as
the houseboat carrying musicians and the 30-odd audience touched
the shores of the lake to announce the end of the musical feast.
(Sheikh Qayoom
can be contacted at sheikh.abdul@ians.in)
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