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exclusive review Art
of propaganda Master
of the eclectic
exclusive It’s one of those
stories of lady luck smiling wholeheartedly on the ‘chosen’ few that
never cease to amaze us. The Pakistani fish vendor Muhammad Shahid Nazir
whose random shout to his customers at a store in Queen’s Market, East
London — “Come on ladies, have a look; one pound fish! Very, very cheap,
one pound fish!” — turned this spontaneous ‘rhyme-maker’ into an
overnight ‘sensation’, thanks to his catchy lyrics and (a funny) tone,
as a customer uploaded the video he had shot of him, on YouTube. This was
early last year. Within no time, ‘One pound fish’ had amassed an
unprecedented number of hits on the popular website. It became UK’s new
national anthem. His historic popularity
reached home ground Pakistan as well. A resident of Pattoki, a small village
in Kasur district, Nazir had a heroic reception at the Lahore airport last
week when he arrived in town. Crazy locals were falling over themselves to
catch a glimpse of their new ‘hero’, the media folks were raring to
record a word with him. “Honestly, I still
haven’t got a chance to sit and evaluate as to how it all happened to
me,” he says, in an exclusive interview with TNS, in a very simple and
humble manner which speaks volumes for his small-town roots. “Many people have come
to me and my family and asked us how we feel. I think I am still living a
dream and don’t want to wake up!” Nazir, who is married with
four kids, went to the UK only a year and a half ago, to study Business
Administration. He was forced to raise funds by working part-time. Despite his humble rural
background, Nazir’s family is educated and involved in transport business.
He says he “always wanted to go abroad and do something.” He is the second person in
the family to have lived abroad. Previously, one of his uncles went to the
UK for higher studies. His forefathers, hailing from Ferozepur, India, had
moved their business to Mumbai and then migrated to Pakistan after the
partition, settling in Pattoki, close to the Indian border. “My employer Humayun
Bashir, originally from Rawalpindi, is a very nice man. On my first day at
work, he asked me to come up with an interesting call-out to attract the
customers,” says Nazir. “I was a little confused as to how would the
people respond to the shout. So, one day I just rattled off ‘fish one
pound, fish one pound’; it got no response.” The next day, he just came
up with the words “Come on ladies…” And, the rest, as they say, is
history. There was an instant buzz
around his shout to customers. “Some actually told me it was very catchy.
Later, I got the chance to sing live in a TV reality show, titled ‘The X
Factor’, before an audience of over 0.2 million.” For Nazir, many stones
were turned after Colin Miller, a customer, uploaded his catchy song on
YouTube and got more than four million hits within just a few days. “At
West Ham’s Upton Park Stadium, at half-time, almost 35,000 people watching
the West Ham vs Everton game enjoyed my performance. I had become a local
celebrity!” Back to the market the
next day, when he sang out his ‘song’, many people were making his
videos. “One day, a friend called me up and asked me to log on to YouTube
and search for ‘One pound fish’. Little did I know that it was my market
gig that had attracted 6.9 million views on the website in less than two
weeks.” Interestingly, the song
had no views from Pakistan since YouTube is blocked here. But, the hits on
the link to his song continue to multiply even as we speak. “I believe it is sheer
luck,” says an obviously dazed Nazir. He refuses to attribute it to any
“method” behind the viral rage that his song has become. Today, leading
singers and bands of the UK and the US like Alesha Dixon, Boy Better Know,
Timbaland and Mindless Behavior have done covers of his song. Almost nine
months since the song created such a buzz on the web, Muhammad Shahid Nazir
received a call from Warner Brothers who wanted to record an official video
of “One pound fish”. Since its release on Dec 7, 2012, for digital
download in UK on iTunes, the song climbed up the charts to number 28 in the
UK Singles Chart, number 5 in the UK Dance Chart, and today its number one
in the UK Asian Charts. His success is being
compared to that of Korean singer Psy’s “Gangnam-style”. “It’s an
interesting comparison,” he says. “Every time I watch the song [“Gangnam
style”], I feel its power to pull in the common people. Initially, you
don’t get the lyrics, but it makes you groove and shake a leg. I believe,
‘One pound fish’ became a success because people were able to connect
with it basic message: ‘Very, very good, very, very cheap/One pound
fish/Six for five pound, one pound each’!” When he sees his own kids
or their school fellows in (his hometown) Pattoki singing the song, he says
he is the happiest. “One pound fish” has been most popular amongst
children back in the UK, too. Nazir relates how the children would throng
his stall and say, “Hello Sir! Are you the one-pound fish man? Can you
please sing for us?” Warner Brothers offered
Nazir a deal to record a techno-infused version of “One Pound Fish”. In
the video, which is in true Bollywood-style, he performs sporting a snazzy
suit alongside scantily-clad dancers, to a South Asian-inspired pop beat.
According to reports, the music video has been viewed nearly 9 million times
already. As the song gained mass popularity, people got talking about it as
a serious contender for the fabled No.1 Christmas single in the UK. Past
chart-toppers include Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and Whitney
Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” “One Pound Fish” made it to
the No.29 slot on the top-40 chart, but it is still the number one on the
Asian list. Talking about his own
music influences, Nazir says he is fascinated by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He
surprises you with his revelation that he was always interested in singing.
“In school and college, I would participate in various singing and
Bazm-e-Adab contests and always won the first prize. My mother would tell me
that someday my voice will do wonders for me.” He also reveals that
“One pound fish” will now be translated into Urdu and Punjabi for a
remix. He breaks into the new version, “Machhi ek pound di, tu sanu nai oo
jaandi”. “So far I’ve managed only these two lines. There are more
offers and projects coming my way, too.” Those present at the
Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, to greet their ‘national
hero’ included politicians. He was showered with rose petals. The slogan
being chanted was: “Long live One Pound Fish”, while TV reporters
interrupted coverage of the fifth anniversary of former prime minister
Benazir Bhutto’s assassination to show live footage of Nazir’s arrival. His visa term was due to
expire when Nazir hit big-time fame. Now he is applying for French visa so
that he can make another grand public appearance at a musical show in
France. Later, he intends to go back to the UK. Nazir recalls a tourist
from Australia as telling him, “You are part of the tour now; just like
London Bridge and London Tower.” His smile reaches his eyes. At another
occasion, a woman brought her special child all the way from Scotland just
to meet him. Though his song has become
immensely popular across the globe, it has also sparked off a debate in the
international press, especially in the UK, terming his lyrics and tune as
“weird”. When asked if he is fine with the label, Nazir says, “I’ve
never claimed that I am a professional singer, I’ve never tried to compare
myself with the maestros. I was nothing and still am nothing. I am only a
hardworking fellow and I will continue to be that way.” Nazir’s twitter handle
is still bombarded with messages by the hour. A fan recently tweeted, “God
help me — I keep singing the song all day long, and I have an exam
tomorrow!” Another wrote, “I’ve told my mum that if I get an RT from
@Real1PoundFish, I’m going to actually do some revision! I am not
manipulating anything; it’s the people’s choice. So, this will be a hit
until people continue to like it and are happy with the tune.” For Nazir, “this song
has changed my life altogether. This song is God’s gift to me. I will
continue with singing but I can never forget my fish stall. I will never
forget the place where I began!”
review People from
Guatemala and other countries were really scared about the world coming to
an end on Dec 21, 2012, as predicted by the ancient Mayans. But the world
did not finish because it is not confined to one time zone as suggested in
the Mayan calendar and calculation. So there can not be one apocalyptic
date/hour valid for all countries. Likewise, the end of a
year and the beginning of another year is not at the same time in all
continents and countries. In the same way, the concept of year as well as
its content is differently experienced by each society. For some, the year
2012 was too long and for a few it ended abruptly. In terms of Pakistani art,
the most significant aspect was international awards which our artists won
during the year. Although these prizes do not determine the worth of an
artist, they do create a hype and attention towards a young or established
artist, especially because the national awards have lost all credibility.
Hence, the big news at the beginning of 2012 was Risham Syed’s inclusion
in the winners of Abraaj Capital Prize, and her work was shown at the Dubai
Art Fair along with five other winners. Syed’s work deals with the
colonial influence in the sphere of industry and production, which affected
the areas of craft and culture and altered the world view of societies that
were subjugated at the hands of imperialism. Following Syed, this
year’s winner of Abraaj Capital Prize is Huma Mulji. Since she is
currently working on her project, her work will be displayed at the Dubai
Art Fair in 2013. Another Pakistani artist to get an international award was
Imran Qureshi; he was named the Duetsche Bank’s Artist of the Year.
Qureshi is known for his experiments in the traditional aesthetics of
miniature painting. His works on paper and installations at various
international venues reflect how an artist extends the conventional
pictorial system in order to respond and cope with the international art
world. Documenta is a prestigious
international art exhibition. For this year’s Documenta, two Pakistani
artists, Bani Abidi and Khadim Ali, were selected. Both artists, distinct in
their training and technique, represent the way art from this part of the
world is connected to current conditions despite being diverse. Abidi has
used video installation to narrate the intricacies of migrations of all
sorts in our times; while Ali has incorporated images and characters from
past for their symbolic and poetic possibilities in his modern miniatures. Rashid Rana, the most
celebrated artist of Pakistan was represented at the 1st Kiev International
Biennale held in 2012 in Ukraine. Although not so glorious,
there were a few other exhibitions that took place during this year outside
Pakistan, which were related to this country. Aisha Khalid’s exhibition
‘Larger Than Life’ was held in October at Whitworth Art Gallery UK, and
Adeela Suleman’s solo exhibition was inaugurated in October 2012 at
Alberto Peolo Gallery in Turino Italy. Suleman was also selected in
‘Phantoms of Asia’ at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. Besides these respectable
exhibitions, the worst show of Pakistani art, ever organised outside the
country was undoubtedly ‘Different Faces of Pakistan’ that started in
October at the Asia House in London. The show comprised works which were
either derivative or commercial, and included paintings by Mashkoor Raza, A.
R, Rind and several unknown dabblers in paint and pigment. The show neither
served to introduce the reality of Pakistani art, nor did it impress with
its curatorial clarity. Back home, many important
exhibitions took place in three art cities of the country. An unusual event
was ‘Exhibition without Objects’ curated by Sadia Shirazi, a curator,
writer and educationist based in New York. She invited five Pakistani
artists to submit works, which did not have any physicality, but were
interactive, performance-based and video installations. The idea of this
exhibition (held at the Drawing Room Gallery, Lahore) was crucial in our
context, where art is equated with commodities which are produced and
purchased. Saira Sheikh, a participant of the show, also held her solo
exhibition early in the year. In her unique mode of display, she focused
more on showcasing the artist rather than her creations. The conceptual
twist made it the most talked-about show in the art world. The year was marked with
solo exhibitions of several renowned artists like Jamil Naqsh (Tanzara,
Islamabad) Tassadaq Suhail (Full Circle, Karachi) Mehr Afroz (Chawkandi,
Karachi), Anwar Saeed (Rohtas 2,Lahore; Canvas and Chawkandi, Karachi),
Hamra Abbas (Canvas, Karachi), Iqbal Hussain and 1qbal Geoffrey (Zahoor ul
Akhlaq Gallery, Lahore) and many more. Two young artists, Wardha Shabbir and
Aysha Zulfiqar, astonished (Rohtas 2 and Drawing Room) with their
extraordinary display of installation and works in uncommon material. Amid this group of
exhibitions, perhaps the most significant was the solo show of Iqbal
Geoffrey. Arguably the only conceptual artist of our country, he
demonstrated how he could utilise space and ready-made items. The work only
affirmed his creative and innovative approach. Other notable shows
include ‘Band Baja and Barat’ (curated by Sameera Raja at Indus Vallery
School of Art and Architecture), ‘Mein’ (self portraits at Koel) and
‘Ussman aur Mein’ (at Koel). But, perhaps in the category of group
exhibitions, Celebrating Art: 30 Years of Rohtas Islamabad at the National
Art Gallery in Islamabad was an ambitious and extensive feat. Featuring
works by artists who exhibited at Rohtas Gallery Islamabad, the exhibition,
held at three spaces of the National Art Gallery, documented and presented
the history of modern and contemporary art of Pakistan. Apart from these, there
have been efforts to move away from the mere business of buying and selling
art. So a number of other intellectual activities were arranged in
connection with the visual art. Vasl organised a symposium on ‘curating’
by presenting diverse points of views to audience. Similarly a range of
books on artists were published but, more than any other publication, the
online magazine on art, Art Now Pakistan, that started last year, was a
major project to deal with art on an intellectual level and to bring it to
the wide world. Initiated by Fawzia Naqvi with Nafisa Rizvi as its first
editor, the magazine managed to introduce concept, personage and practices
of Pakistani art, both inside the country and abroad. Being an online
magazine, it was possible for it to move away from the confines of costs and
profits. Perhaps it was brought out in response to our ever-increasing urge
to push the entire activity of art within a sphere of market. The year 2012 was
different from the previous years. Let’s us if the New Year brings new
ideas in our brave old world of art. caption Art by Risham Syed, this
year’s winner of Abraaj Capital Prize.
Art of
propaganda This is a
remarkable collection of posters that gives the visitor a peek into the
history of the People’s Republic of China through the latter part of the
20th century. This collection, a graphic documentation providing an
idealised account, through the medium of poster art, pertains to an
important period in global history as well. The poster has always been a
strong medium for mass communication. And, throughout its history, dating
back to 1870, symbolism has been a major component of poster art for
advertising for commerce; to convey religious diktats; for travel,
entertainment and events; or for political propaganda. Although the word
‘propaganda’ is mainly associated with political discourse today, it
originated in the religious domain, from the Congregation for Propagating
the Faith, established by Pope Gregory XV. Propaganda is also the spreading
of ideas, information or rumour for the purpose of helping or injuring an
institution, a cause or a person. It is most widely deployed by the state
(or its institutions) to promote its objectives, either directly or through
running down any opposing opinion or movement. Interestingly, the
Propaganda Museum in Shanghai is not state-owned. It is a private
collection, on display in a basement in the city’s famous French
Concession district. The posters, however, remind us how Chairman Mao and
his comrades informed and restored the collective mind of the one billion
people of China for several decades. “In the days before CNN
and Fox News,” says a sign on a wall, “a still image truly was worth a
thousand words”. It goes on to add that the collection displays a
“heroic saga of countless victories over momentous struggles”. However, if you look
carefully at the posters, it is not too difficult to ‘read between the
lines.’ Behind the seemingly happy faces beaming out of each poster, one
can sense the true-life anxieties and hardships of the people the posters
purported to represent and glorify. Each poster, a work of art, also
provides insight into the events and prevailing circumstances of that
period. The Chinese propaganda
posters are rich in content and style. From the surreal cartoonist style of
the early period, this art form developed into a more confident style
reminiscent of early European forays into the medium of large-scale
industrial-print propaganda. One can see labourers, peasants, factory
workers, the raised hand or fist, the Little Red Book or just the colour
red, used to symbolise an ongoing revolution for basic rights and equality. As the Korean War drew to
a close, however, a deeper influence of socialist-realism entered these
posters. Following this, the idealised and heroic workers are shown in their
utopian communities and settings. As I moved from wall to
wall and room to room, I noticed another interesting aspect. This was the
influence of the 1930s Shanghai calendar girls on some of the 1950s
propaganda posters. The ‘Big Leap Forward’ and cold war posters of the
late fifties and early sixties have interesting folk art paintings. Also,
the abrupt shift from these styles toward violent and militaristic themes
during the Cultural Revolution is also something that provides food for
thought for the visitor, and points to the changed mood of the times. The red and black woodcut
style posters were made by art school students. Many Chinese artists who
participated in the Long March, a year-long 8,000-mile military venture of
the Red Army against the Nationalists in 1934, established the Lu Xun
Academy of Fine Arts at Yan’an. Artists studied both woodcut and other
techniques here. The New Woodcut Movement
of the 1930s and 1940s, in which the stark black-and-white woodcuts depict
human deprivation and an urgent need for popular resistance, is radically
different from the traditional woodblock print culture of pre-20th century
China. Some years later these artists travelled to study under folk artists
for the same purpose: to create artistic propaganda for the improvement of
the nation. Artistic activity was seen as a service, hence there was no
‘art for art’s sake’. After Mao’s death and
the end of the Cultural Revolution, socialist realism in art may have
weakened with time, but hasn’t died altogether. It can still be seen in
government-sponsored posters. Over 5,000 posters were
produced between 1949 and 1979. Many of these were, however, destroyed each
time a different political outlook emerged during that period. The
Propaganda Museum in Shanghai is perhaps the only place where such a large
collection of these posters can be found today. The Director of this
Museum, Yang Pei Ming, is quoted as saying, “Though today’s China, with
its economic prosperity and steady march towards becoming a modern,
forward-thinking country is very different from the China under Mao, it
would nevertheless be a mistake to forget our recent history.” Reliving
some of that history proved to be a treat for the eyes as much as for the
intellect. Rahul Dev Burman
introduced new sounds with a new sensibility, new beats, new ways of using
the existing instruments, and brought in new instruments as well. He was
comfortable with new technologies and the production and post production of
sound; he could create music from sounds which were not considered to be
suitable for music. The mixed rhythm patterns, the piquant chords and sound
mixing were the hallmark of his creativity. His compositions in Chote
Nawab, his first feature film, had castanets, the acoustic guitar playing
flamenco style, Arabic style high-pitched humming and then a violin
ensemble. It also had bells and ghungroos, differential intrasong rhythm
patterns, innovations like synchronised clapping-cum-foot-tapping and the
use of brass. The beginnings were
eclectic, like lifting the veil for a new globalised musical expression. And
this polyglot exposed him to charges of imitation. Many composers,
especially in the film industry, have been pilloried for plagiarism. R.D.
Burman, too, was accused of lifting compositions from across the globe and
then making musical entities out of them which sold well and even proved to
be the real cause for the film’s success at the box office. Even Lata
Mangeskhar, in the documentary made on her life on completing fifty years in
the industry, referred in as many words to the charge of imitation as she
went along discussing the work of various composers especially with
reference to R.D. Burman. In R.D. Burman — The
Man, The Music, too, this charge against him has been addressed and it is
acknowledged that he did lift many of his compositions and scores during the
course of his very successful career. Many composers in Pakistan
have been accused of stealing the composition of Indian composers and,
likewise, many Indian composers have imitated compositions that became
famous initially in Pakistan. This has been going on for a very long time
and is done with impunity and goes largely unchecked. Many Indian composers in
the past have been accused, though not frontally, of lifting tunes from
musics across the world. S.D. Burman, father of R.D, was often critically
castigated for being influenced by foreign compositions. Others in the
industry who have been pointed out in this respect are Shanker Jaikishen,
Salil Chaudry and O.P. Nayyar. Borrowing has been the
lifeline of music through the ages. A foreign composition is lifted and,
with the passage of time, so fully indigenised that it does not appear
foreign or an imitation. It is not that straight
and easy to fall for the charge of plagiarism. Probably it has to be
evaluated on a sliding scale. Some distinction has to be made between being
influenced by a composer or a composition, being in a position to emulate a
composition, and downright copying. In music, the possibility of the first
two is far greater than the latter. There have actually been many
compositions which are properly indigenised and do not appear to be lifted
from foreign cultures or other societies. Probably what is new is that the
pace of borrowing has become very rapid and the process of assimilation is
more forced. The ever growing demand of a huge industry does not allow the
composers, directors and the screenplay writers to transform an idea from
abroad and adapt it to their own milieu. It goes to the credit of
R.D. Burman that he changed the intonation of Indian film music. He was the
first one to realise that the era of high melody was coming to an end and
that the temperament of films was changing. Another tonal overhaul was
needed. The path he may have selected had its detractors but he enjoyed a
long stint as a very successful film composer. R.D. was born to Meera
Dhar Gupta and Sachal Dev Burman in 1939 and hence had the family name to
protect if not to enhance. The book gives some information about the family
background of S.D. Burman and his early struggles in trying to find a niche
in the world of cinema, initially in Calcutta and then in Bombay. Rahul Dev would either cry
touching the fifth note or, as he grew up a little, when his father wanted
him to intone Sa he intoned Pa instead so the name Pancham stuck. The only
instrument he learnt to play was the mouth organ but, over the years, he was
able to get round him a group of very talented musicians who were well-aware
of the new instruments and the sounds that these produced. He worked well
with that team as they understood intuitively what he wanted. His gurus in music were
the tabla players, Brajen Biswas and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, but his heart was
not in classical music. He preferred to learn in the restaurants and hotels
where all kinds of music was played. Though he was introduced to western
classical music, he was drawn more towards jazz, Latin American and Middle
Eastern music. He also worked as an
assistant to composers and, when his first film Chote Nawab was released in
1961, he had to wait another four years for his next film but, all this
while, he assisted his father. The relationship between the father and son
was tense as it should be between two creative individuals. It is said that
many background scores of S.D. Burman films were done by R.D. but without
proper acknowledgement. When he was given an opportunity to compose for the
films, the father thought it was too early for him and will stop his growth He scored music for Bhoot
Bangla, Teesra Kaun, Pati Patni and finally Teesri Manzil which established
him as a composer. Baharoan Ke Sapne was a definitive evolutionary step from
an enthusiast who loved to experiment into a creator of melody-based
composition that deserved to be treated with lyrical care rather than being
considered just a complex sequence of notes and patterns. In the end people starting
introducing S.D. as the father of R.D. a true indication of changing times
and changing trends in music. — R.D.Burman: The Man,
The Music is available at Liberty Books R.D. Burman — The Man,
The Music By Anirudha Bhattacharjee
and Balaji Vittal Harper Collins Publishers
India Year of Publication 2011 Pages: 342 Price: Rs 825
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