INSTEP Magzine

"Pakistan banne ke baad,
Jab aik aik karke hamare khwab bikharnay lagay, tootnay lagay,
To apne humkhayalon ko hum ne dhoondna shuru kiya
Ke kistarah se hum mulk mai azadi, jamhooriat aur maushi azadi lasakein.
Khauf se pata nahee hilta tha, to yeh nazam Dastoor maine likhi thi"

(After Pakistan was created,
When our dreams began to shatter one by one
We began looking for like-minded people
To find out how we can bring freedom, democracy and economic freedom to the country
Even a leaf wouldn't shake because of the terror, and then I wrote the poem Dastoor)

The iconic poet may have written these words decades ago, but the thought behind them still holds true. The coming together of activists and artistes and academics has been a tradition in Pakistan for any movement that has seen a degree of success. That sentiment has seen the birth of the band Laal, whose music is truly blazing a trail for a revolutionary sound to enter Pakistan's airwaves.

The name Laal first appeared as it catapulted to households in the country via their video for 'Mainay Uss Se Yeh Kaha', set to Habib Jalib's verses from his poem Musheer. Based on what a 'lota' (sycophant) advisor would say to the President (Jalib wrote it based on Hafeez Jalandhari who was advisor to President Ayub Khan), with sarcastic verses like 'das crore yeh gadhay jin ka naam hai awaam', and a montage of clips that highlighted the previous government in power. The instant question was: who are these musicians?

They may be unbeknownst to a larger audience, but on the activist and academic circuit they are well known. The brainchild of Taimur Rahman and Shahram Azhar, Laal isn't just a band: it is a platform for them to combine their activist and political ideologies with their admiration for the progressive poetry that has been written in Pakistan. It isn't just a band name either: the colour red signifies their strong Communist beliefs and those loom large over their music.

Laal isn't Taimur and Shahram's full time focus. The two are academics, currently working on their doctorate degrees in the UK. And away from home, they have stayed true to their Marxist and activist leanings: protesting against the Emergency imposition outside Downing Street, speaking at conventions of the Communist Party in the UK and participating in pro-China rallies to counter the pro-Tibet ones.

Taimur and Shahram have been joined in this musical journey down a revolutionary road with Mahvash Waqar on backing vocals and Haider Rahman on flute. The band gel well together, having been brought together by a common love for the music and the ideology behind it.

They aren't conventional musicians, completely unversed in the details that musicians in Pakistan hanker over. While the jovial Taimur can speak about a hundred words a minute on every topic under the sky, at their album launch it was Shahram who spoke reams about the poetry and motives behind their debut album, Umeed-e-Sahar, delving into the history of Habib Jalib, the musical quality to his poems and reciting verses at tandem. While Taimur switches from the oft-repeated story of why Laal is making the music they are to earthy Punjabi at random, Shahram is quieter and speaks in eloquent Urdu at concerts, using phrases like 'aapki khidmat mai yeh pesh karte hain'. When I asked them if they have a manager, Taimur wondered aloud if they need one at which point I reassured them that they seem entirely capable of managing the band themselves.

As the conversation turned to our mutual admiration for Abrar-ul-Haq, Taimur asked, "Does Abrar have a manager?" - but then his Abrar bubble was burst somewhat when during the conversation he found out that the 'Billo' singer sang the theme song for the PML-Q during the February 2008 elections. They do have their quirks though, taking their name and belief literally, they dress in red for their performances and video. They ponder about how their album launch will go. And in a rather genuine manner, they asked attendees at their album launch to invite all their friends to attend their performance for the Geo TV show Applause.

The story of how this band began may date back, as Taimur laughed when asked the same question, to the 1800s, but is again, rather different. Taimur and Shahram met while Taimur taught at the Lahore University of Management Sciences where Shahram was one of his students. The two bonded as Communist comrades and as activists desirous of change in the country. The fact that they both were musically inclined - Shahram has been classically trained while Taimur often played the guitar during his classes - only furthered their comradeship, one suspects.

Their admiration for the progressive artistes of Pakistan, notably Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Habib Jalib, both who were also Communists, has led to the album being a musical rendition of some of the firebrand poetry these two icons wrote.

Laal aims to be a continuation from where the progressive artists and writers society left off, and Taimur and Shahram aim to emulate the ideals left behind by them. They are not making music for the fame or the fan following, but this is truly 'for the people, by the people'. When one quizzed them during an interview on how they planned to promote their music, Taimur emphatically said: "guerilla concerts!" This has been Taimur and Shahram's mainstay from the start of their musical journey, where they performed for workers in their houses, or how they now aim to continue to perform in the same way. It is also a throwback to how Habib Jalib, the revolutionary poet whose poems form the basis for most of Laal's songs, would perform at press clubs, gatherings and political meetings, particularly when Fatima Jinnah was fighting an election campaign against Ayub Khan.

And they followed through with the example just last week at the long march, by performing in Aabpara as protestors amassed and joining in at the celebrations outside the Chief Justice's house to play songs from their album. In a country where musicians tend to make noises about politics and the current state of affairs yet do nothing about it; Laal has changed the scope of Pakistani music in a big way.

Laal's triumphant euphoria after the reinstatement of the Chief Justice was visible at their live performance telecast by Geo. As Shahram sang 'Mainay Uss Se Yeh Kaha', he interspersed each couplet with by talking about different advisors to President Zardari, which was met with much cheer from the crowd - and from the hosts of the concert, including Hamid Mir. Their energy was culled from the events of March 15 and March 16, and Taimur said at the concert: "When Shahram woke up this morning he said 'I won't be able to sing tonight'" as Taimur aped Shahram's tired voice. But the live performance only spoke of triumph and really, the hope of a new dawn, ala Umeed-e-Sahar.

And that hope has won them a lot of fans. By Taimur's own admission, "we've had an enormously positive response, from the youth, communists, socialists, progressives," and even Shahbaz Sharif noted that the videos (most were of songs by Laal) Geo News kept running the day of the long march played a role in the events of the day.

It's also interesting to note how Laal coming onto the music scene has paved the way for bands with a political ideology and belief to make it to the mainstream. At their concert after the reinstatement of the CJP, one could see Communist party flags waving from the crowd - a sight I have never before seen at any concert in Pakistan - much less at a concert being broadcast live.

Their earnestness to use music and poetry as a supporting vehicle for the movement of change in Pakistan is refreshing. That has translated into their video, 'Umeed-e-Sahar' (a poem by Faiz), which depicts a scene of common injustice via the hands of passing VIPs who cause blockades and stop even ambulances from passing through. But standing up to that injustice, which is shown rather optimistically in the video, showcases how to inspire change through music.

And their album, Umeed-e-Sahar isn't just groundbreaking in the sense that it comes at such a crucial juncture in Pakistan's history: a time where we once again are faced with worsening conditions on the political, economic and security fronts. It is important because it seeks to refresh the foresight-laden words of progressive poets like Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Habib Jalib, and revive them out of the dusty books they have been shut up in and breathe live in Technicolour. Faiz and Jalib both wrote poems that dealt with oppression and tyranny, politics and history, dictators and democracy. What Taimur and Shahram have attempted to do with this record is to bring the spotlight back on to the messages that these progressive icons brought forth in decades past.

And why not revive the message? In Pakistan, we exist in a perpetual Memento/Ghajini-like state. Long-term sufferers of short-term memory, we witness, year after year the same old drama orchestrated by the same actors on the political arena. The alternative needs to be brought forward, and what better way than through music? It is the same motive that inspired Faiz and Jalib to write and inspire change.

The album, Umeed-e-Sahar presents a world of poetic outcries. Adapted to fiery poems, the songs are inherently catchy and have that same effect that Iqbal Bano's rendition of Faiz's 'Hum Dekhenge' does: the feeling of a heartfelt cry. While 'Zulmat Ko Zia' speaks out against Zia-ul-Haq's era and speaks of a writer who is adamant he can not sing praises of a dictator, 'Jaag Meray Punjab' highlights the power centre province and how it must awaken otherwise Pakistan may just drift apart and 'Mat Samjho' which talks about the conveniently short memories politicians have. These are all songs that help one understand the parallels between Pakistan's past and present.

In the same way that nationalistic songs like 'Dil Dil Pakistan' and 'Jazba e Junoon' became anthems for an optimistic youth in the early '90s, Umeed-e-Sahar aptly describes the sentiments that the politically conscious youth of Pakistan feel. The icons of Pakistan today are not Pakistani cricketers or musicians, but they are figures like the Chief Justice or Aitzaz Ahsan. But as Taimur aptly said when discussing the relevance of their album, "In these circumstances, and whatever is happening, how can we not be affected? We want to bring change and see justice."