The sound of music
At a desi event in London recently, The Man of Steel’s grandson sang part of a famous kafi of Mian Muhammad Baksh, a renowned Qadiri Sufi of northern Punjab. The verses were part of Mian Sahab’s legendary Saif-ul-Muluk, referring to incarceration, loss, pain and ultimately, reunion. “Ki hoya jay qaidi banay/Sada qaidi naheen rehna. Ik din aaseen fer Muhammad, ja sangaan rall behna”.
“What matters it that we are prisoners today?
Forever it shall not last/that day too shall dawn, Muhammad/when friends will meet and embrace again.”
Not only did The Man’s grandson carry the tune melodiously, he sang with pathos and had the audience enthralled. It’s no secret that The Man and his entire family are very fond of music and can sing well. This list includes The Man himself and his siblings, his elder daughter and now his grandson.
Let there be light!
We all know that media censorship reigns supreme in Pakistan today, worse, journos censor themselves lest they earn the ire of the government and its patrons. “Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil”, seems to be the mantra of the time. Whenever some silenced journalists break free of their chains and seek to express themselves on social media, whenever they try and speak truth to power, they are swiftly rapped on the knuckles by their bosses and told to withdraw tweets, delete posts etc. Now that there is some introspection on course correction, this is one issue that needs a statesmanlike solution. Let there be light!