INSTEP Magzine


Pakistan rocks at Oslo Mela

Pakistan is literally going places these days. After the historic Pakistan Day Parade event in London, Pakistani musicians flew out to a foreign land and held their head high once again. Held in Oslo, the heart of the capital city of Norway, the Oslo 'Mela' was nothing but unadulterated and enthralling power packed Pakistani performances. It was a night when Norwegians headbanged to Arif Lohar's chimta and Ali Azmat and Strings created rock magic alongside various other acts that make our musical history so rich. Organised by the Rafi Peer Theatre along with Horisont Foundation, the event brought out pop, sufic and qawwali stars of Pakistan together under this massive umbrella, spun over three days. From Ali Azmat to Strings, Arif Lohar, Rizwan and Moazzam Ali Khan Qawwal, Iqbal Bahu and Rafaqat Ali Khan rocked it out and in return. The Pakistan Day Parade in London and now a mela in Oslo. Pakistan is stepping out into the world and how!

Arif Lohar A crowd of over 10,000 people went berserk as the black lacha kurta wearing folk wonder man, Arif Lohar belted out his popular folk tunes, one after another. Arif started with 'Baliye Ni Baliye' and his revamped 'Jugni' created a riot. It was received with triple the energy witnessed for Ali Azmat as Norwegians twisted and head banged in tune with Lohar's chimta. The energy reached a level where the organizers backstage and photographers and cameramen all put down their equipment and joined the 'Jugni' dance frenzy. An ecstatic Faizan Peerzada was also witnessed dancing backstage with the event organizers. The first day belonged to Arif Lohar and his 'Jugni'. He was such a huge hit that Arif Lohar also appeared on the second day amidst deafening applause and this time it was his song 'Kangna' which pulled the audience. It was pure entertainment for the Norwegians who wolf whistled and twisted to their heart's content. The man who makes music for the Kissan made us so proud!

Ali Azmat Not enough can ever be said about the livewire sensation that Ali Azmat is. The Pakistanis and Indians knew what they were in for and the Norwegians and other communities who had been dancing to his sound checks in the morning were excited and impatient for him to unleash his magic. A huge roar from the jam-packed venue welcomed him with girls in the front row screaming and whistling at Ali's every move. He started with 'Neend Aati Nahin', following it with several Junoon hits like 'Mera Mahi', some numbers from his up coming album and some from the mega hit Social circus. He ended his performance with 'Sayonee' with people roaring for him. Ali threw his cap to the crowd, which incited even more screams from his female fans, who were present in full force to see the rocker. Fans screamingly requested Ali to sing 'Pappu Yaar' but it was time for the next act.

Strings With their good looks and cultured mannerism, Strings were an instant hit. Bilal's shy smile and quiet ways won over the females who called and whistled at him throughout. TV channels had been playing their videos including 'Duur' and 'Zinda' that received nothing but superlative praises from viewers with some giving them 11 out of 10 marks. They started their performance with 'Chaaye Chaaye' and got the crowd to say the words with them. They followed it with 'Kahani Mohabbat Ki', 'Zinda', 'Duur', and ended with a rock version of 'Dam Mast Qalandar' with the crowd singing (read screaming)!

Our trucks are a rage! Though people took countless photos of the stars performing but the most photographed item at the event all three days was a Pakistani truck, which was being painted live by a Pakistani painter from Rawalpindi called Tariq and was named "Art on wheels". Children wondered at the intricate drawings and beautiful colours while a female German photographer took (according to herself) 200 photos of the truck inside out. A huge number of Japanese tourists were present who were more interested in getting their photos taken in front of the colourful truck rather than the nearby Nobel Prize centre. Children hovered around the huge elephants, camels and puppets decorated and put up by the Rafi Peer theatre group who had also designed the whole ambience of the event mixing Pakistani, Norwegian, Indian, African and Middle Eastern cultures. Rizwan and Moazzam Ali Khan Qawwal group Rizwan and Moazzam Ali Khan Qawwal group performed hit Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan numbers. And it was once again revealed that NFAK was truly Pakistan's best ambassador as even the Norwegians instantly recognized the late maestro's popular songs and paid fitting tribute by clapping, dancing and trying to sing along. Rafaqat Ali Khan Rafaqat Ali Khan brought his own unique flavour of singing to the crowd. A classically trained singer from the Shaam Chaurasi Gharana, he is equally skilled in playing and infusing western instruments and influences in his singing. He began with 'Maula Meray' from Anwar and sang all his popular numbers from some Indian flicks but the most popular among the screaming females were 'Main Woh Hoon' and 'Mast Qalandar' which once again proved that language is not a barrier when it comes to music and the rest of the arts. Iqbal Bahu The ethnically diverse crowd no less appreciated Iqbal Bahu, a veteran Sufi folk singer of Pakistan with the Pakistanis connecting with their roots through the sufiana kalam and pure folk renditions. A family had specially flown in from Paris to catch Bahu's two performances the same day. Text and photos by Masood Rizvi (with help from Fizzah Rizvi)