“The Pot Calling the Kettle Black”

The following guest blog was written by Salman Ahmed is a response to recent appearance of Ali Azmat on a famous TV channel. He writes on a famous music website as:

“Dear Junoonis!

After reading your deluge of e-mails and tweets of disgust concerning Ali Azmat‘s recent appearance on a famous channel, I saw the program myself and I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

I’m stunned at the audacity of ignorance, the dishonesty and the complete hypocrisy uttered by Ali Azmat on the recent TV show.

Pakistan does not need the “Danda” or a “Khilafat” any more than it needs corrupt politicans, suicide bomb blasts and drones that kill innocent civilians.

I wonder why TV channel doesn’t choose to invite serious people who have contributed positively to Pakistan’s culture, education and society rather than trying to get cheap laughs out of confused and brainwashed celebrity addicts.

Cynical ideologues who find Ali Azmat to be an eager robot for their conspiracies must also be wondering what kind of Bald “Pappu yaar” they have unleashed on the Pakistani population.

For the record: I would like to make clear that Ali Azmat had zero creative input on over 90% of the Junoon songs (Including Jazba Junoon, Azadi, Allama Iqbal, Bulleh Shah’s and Shah Hussain’s songs and Pappu Yaar.)

Ali was completely resistant and hostile to the spiritual poetry of Bulleh Shah and Allama Iqbal and hated singing Sufi songs (and now he wants an Islamic Khilafat sponsored by the Army. May Allah help Pakistan!)

While in Junoon the only thing Ali was most vociferous about was having his money for nothing and his chicks for free, and yes he also enjoyed running naked in the middle of the night in 5-star hotels screaming Inquilaab! If this is a reaction to his earlier loose cannon extremism, he should make a remake of the movie ALL OF ME.

After watching Ali’s “dumb and dumber” drivel, I feel I should re-title my book from Rock & Roll Jihad to “How Junoon survived despite a Psychotic, Paranoid & Schizophrenic Bald man!””

Ali’s team responded to his blog,

“Good to hear about the comments from Mr. Salman Ahmed.
Jo Garajtay hain Woh Barastay Nahin
He might not have a rock and roll book but he truly has a voice and he loves his fans. So to all those who still love the voice that has filled our years for over a decade, follow the legend Ali Azmat directly on twitter on the following address.
Follow http://www.twitter.com/realaliazmat
And yeah wouldn’t take much effort for the so called “Bald Man” to respond to this non sense but we at team Ali Azmat believe in the following:
“Agar kisi ko maarna hai tou batoun se nahin kaam se maro”
God Bless”

Both of these musicians are mature enough and aged people. They at least must know what they are talking about and how they are putting allegations on each other. It is so easy to live outside your country and then talk about dear homeland. The songs he was talking about or was referring to, is an old riff by Jimi Hendrix, Jimi Page and U2. The band gave good music to its fans but after disbanding, shows some kind of clashes now. Salman seems a bit disappointed of why the TV channels didn’t invite him. The recent “Rock & Roll Jihad” passed through a big controversy too. Despite some “beautiful” international reviews, it got a mixed kind of response in Pakistan. Ali was never found commenting or making personal attacks on any member. Most of the bands disbanded in Pakistan, including Vital Signs and Awaz. A kind of cold war may continue among them but band members after disbanding, but one will rarely find a member spitting venom against another band member.  Ali sounded a bit confused and only presented his views in the show. Freedom of speech and what one thinks is a right for every citizen. No one can stop someone from exercising it. Ali also sounded a bit right regarding his opinion on democracy in Pakistan. Forget about his talk. He isn’t a political analyst or a cultural psychoanalyst. Whatever he said, seems true to some extent. Let us come to his music journey. Ali has proved to be an amazing solo artist as well. Take the example of his albums Klashinfolk and Social Circus. Ali has more talent and creativity. Social Circus was a massive departure from Junoon's typical style and won 23 awards in Pakistan, including Best Album and Best Producer. In India, Azmat was nominated for Best Soundtrack and Best Song at the Sahara Awards for his single "Garaj Baras" in the Pooja Bhatt film Paap. At least his contribution to Pakistani music sounds better than the one by Salman Ahmed. At least Ali’s talk isn’t critically acclaimed like the one by Salman, in which he is seen passing some ridiculous remarks about religion. As far as the topics of radicalization and extremism are concerned, Salman may have done a peaceful job. All trying to be said is how he can criticize his old friend, when he himself is not free from highly acclaimed critics. Also, some loyal fans of Junoon may get hurt over all this. Wasting their energies in meaningless fights would provide no outcome. It would be extremely great if these two great musicians only stick to making music and give their fans entertainment, instead of touching sensitive topics. Some of the audience may feel like laughing at Ali’s comments, but the same audience can get surely get annoyed over what Salman said about Islam. "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones."

Diminutive ‘Au Fait’ and Meek Exquisiteness with Coke Studio Episode 2

Published on www.koolmuzone.com, on 21st June 2010

By

Sadaf Fayyaz

The second episode of Coke Studio 3 aired on June 20^th. The episode featured five tracks out of which only two proved to be extremely hilarious. Coke Studio is famous for maintiang its style of fusion and diversity in music, this time flavored a bit experimental and mind-numbing. It was nice to see EP performing together but they could not maintain the real essence of the beautiful song “Bolo Bolo” by Sajjad Ali.  A very famous song from hit album “Babia” of Sajjad Ali, which was released in early 90’s, had “Bolo Bolo” as the second most favorite song, after “Babia”. The vocalist Fawad did little justice with this legendary and gorgeous song of Sajjad Ali. The bona fide quintessence of the song wasn’t felt at all. Upon asking Ahmed Ali Butt about the Coke Studio sessions, he shared,

“It was a wonderful experience, the whole team and crew of CS3 was fantastic. It was great to work with similar minded people who know how to deliver perfection. We felt great. The whole studio feel was very challenging and fresh. EP has always been known for its live performances and energy but this time around we wanted to show a more mature side of the band. CS3 gave us the opportunity.”

Upon asking him further about what they were expecting from their fans, Ahmed Ali Butt said,

“Well, we don’t have any idea about that, we did coke studio not with that intention. EP has a cult following and fans might object to the fact that EP went soft or tried something bluesy on the other hand they might love the fact also, so it’s only fair that EP did this for EP. It’s something new and fresh and EP took it us as a challenge to do something totally radical. We had fun and hope people will have it too.”

Also EP fans may feel amazed since the video of their song “Chor Macha” is coming out soon. Stay tuned to that.

The drum maestro Gumby has always been amazing and energetic, in a way he was in the previous episodes too. The beautiful beat of his drum has not match. He shared, 

“The project by far has grown in terms of video and audio production. Everyone, from Zeeshan and Adnan on the visual front to Rohail, the technical staff and the musicians, has set the standards in their own right. It's lovely working with a team like that over the past 3 years. The vision of the lineup and especially Coke Studio just seems to be getting clearer and brighter when it comes to the arts. It was high time that Pakistan experienced something this genuine and of quality where one can safely say that "we are here to give the audience a show that they will remember for a long time!"

Amanat Ali has been an amazing singer. Last year his album got a very good response in the yearly album charts. But this time, the authentic splendor of song “Aicha” by Khaled, could not be retained by Amanat. However, Zeb and Haniya managed to maintain the beauty of folk Dari song “Bibi Sanam” (First episode of Coke Studio 3). When it comes from Persian to Urdu, the essence of translation isn’t that hard. But from French to Urdu, needs a deeper analysis, richness of the language and understanding its diction too. Amanat has super vocals, but the lyrics of the song don’t sound that strong as the ones of original “Aicha”. Though, the melody and music is really beautiful and catchy. This beautiful song has been sung in many versions and languages. The French version was performed by Khaled and Faudel, a Malay version with tinges of Arabic in it was by Yasin, titled as “Aishah”. It had two cappella versions: one by Penn Masala and the second by Aquabella. The French/Arabic version was performed by Lobo Ismail. The Hebrew version of this legendary song was written by Ehud Manor and performed by Haim Moche. An English version of the song was performed by Aqmal and Sufyan. The Salsa version was done by Africando where the Zouk version was performed by Kassav. The Serbian version was made by Dragana Mirkovic and was titled “Pogledaj Me”. The Danish hip hop band, Outlandish, recorded and released an English version of the song "Aicha" which was included in their album Bread & Barrels of Water and was produced & and musically performed by Mintman aka Carsten Mortensen. It could be said that such a rich song, that had multiple versions, shouldn’t have been experimented this time in Urdu.

Coming to Zeb and Haniya, along with Noori, we can see Haniya singing too. She is always seen on guitars. It was refreshing to see her on vocals too. Over all, it was an above average song. Zeb and Haniya stole the show with their “Paimoona” and “Bibi Sanam”, in the past. But this time this marks as only a good song, not a show-stealing one.  Same goes to Noori too. The song “Aik Alif”, with Saeen Zahoor, in last season was highly ranked. “Tann” is an ordinary song.

The most beautiful and melodious song of the entire episode was “Moomal Rano” by Fakir Juman Shah. The beauty and richness of Sufi Kalam by Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai could be felt deeply in from of soul touching and awe-inspiring music. The fusion marks great. The song starts with a traditional folk touch and transforms into something highly mystical in the end.  Moomal Rano basically is a history of folk stories that took place on the soil of Pakistan. The three famous tragic stories of the literature are Sassi Pannu, Heer Ranjha and Sohni Mahiwal. The story of Momal Rano is a beautiful and historical tale of winning love. The seven queens and heroines of Sindhi folk lore have been given a status of royalty in “Shah Jo Rasalo”, (the name for compiled verses of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai). Moomal is one of those seven queens.  Fakir Juman beautifully maintained the essence of this tale with his soulful voice.

The second beautiful song was “Naina de Akhay” by duo Rizwan & Muazzam. Still it cannot be compared with the legendary Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The talent runs in the blood. They maintained the essence of the show by their super Qawali style and measured momentum. This time, CS fans are a bit disappointed. But let us wait for the next episode on 4^th July. Stay tuned to some amazing performances by Abida Perveen, Meesha Shafi, Aunty Disco Project, Sanam Marvi, and Tina Sani & Arieb Azhar.

Father-Son Playing Son-Father: “Paa” Review

By

Sadaf Fayyaz

“Paa” addresses a serious issue progeria which doesn’t have cure.  The Big B. has played one of the most challenging roles of his career, after  Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Black”. Auro is a 13 year-old boy suffering from a rare genetic disorder that accelerates aging. There is a remarkable difference between  his mental and chronological age. The disease hits one person out of eight million, with estimated life to be around 12-13 years.   Though, being unaware of his condition, Auro is a joyful boy, living with his single mother Vidya Arte (Vidya Balan) and his granny.  Amol Arte (Abishek) plays the role of a famous and inspiring politician with a mission. He didn’t want Auro in his life, so Vidya disappeared from his life. Upon paying a visit to Auro’s school, he gets emotionally attached with the progeria-stricken boy, being unaware of their real relationship with each other. The friendship grows and grows. Paa is a directorial venture by R Balki, who directed the critically acclaimed “Cheeni Kum” too.

It has been written and directed very well with some parts being perilously praised. The makeover (by Domini Till and Christien Tinseley) is very fabulous, with giving Amitabh a typical progeria patient look. The symptoms of the disease are wrinkled skin, abnormally big head, loss of hair and abnormal growth. The music is not highly touching except the track “mere paa”. Abhishek, Vidya, and Paresh, have done justice with their roles, but Amitabh outshines the rest. The second half of the film is stronger and more worth watching, than the first one. With almost negligible glamour in the film, it addresses a serious issue. It reflects the story of disease, sufferings and human relationships.

Old & New Sayings- II

by

Sadaf Fayyaz

Old: A quarrelsome man has no good neighbors

New: Become quarrelsome in order to make your neighbors good.

Old: A rule isn’t fair if it applies to everyone.

New: A single rule has different applications for different people. (See HR rules these days)

Old: A thousand artisans a thousand plans.

New: A thousand artisans, not even a single plan these days.

Old: A trouble shared is a trouble halved.

New: A trouble shared is a trouble doubled these days.

Old: A true soldier doesn’t accept the defeat before the battle.

New: Soldiers seldom enter the battle field these days.

Old: Aim high in your career, but stay humble in your heart.

New: Aim high in your career but accept the lowest salary.

Old: As you shall sow, so shall you reap?

New: Sowing something reaping something else.

Old: Bad is called good when worse happens.

New: Worse is called bad when worst happens. (E.g. take politics)

Old: Beauty without virtue is a flower without perfume.

New: Girl without dowry is a flower without a perfume.

Old: Better one true friend than 100 relatives.

New: Better one true friend than 1000 relatives.

Old: Butterflies come to pretty flowers.

New: Boys come to pretty girls.

Old: Character building begins at infancy and continues till death.

New: Character building begins after becoming a politician and continues until resignation.

Old: Economy is the wealth of the poor and wisdom of the rich.

New: Economy is the rule of the rich and misery of the poor. (See present times)

A More Dimensional Intimacy with "Bibi Sanam Janem"

 Published on www.koolmuzone.com, on 12th June, Under Reviews

 by

Sadaf Fayyaz

After “Paimona”, Zeb & Haniya steal the show with their highly applaudable “Bibi Sanam”, with Dari derivation and saccharine Dari accent. The Coke Studio sessions are really worth appraising and hold a touch of classy knack to them. The original song, sung by Wahid Qasemi (Vaheed Kaacemy; Persian) sounds with a different set of tune and harmony. The magnificent folk song from Afghanistan is sung in a very Dari style by Wahid. Vocals of both the artists are incomparable, since both have a style of their own. The Zeb & Haniya version starts with a beautiful Rubab played by Sadiq Sameer, whereas the original one starts with a different mode. After Rubab, we hear some dramatic guitar too, followed by some eccentric drum strikes by Pinto. Zoe, Sanam and Saba can be seen as the backing vocalists in the song. The Zeb & Haniya duo has really made it a soulful and poignant melody after giving it a totally innovative and novel touch. The level of romanticism associated with the beautiful Dari poetry can be felt profoundly. Since the legendary music cannot be re-created or re-composed the way it was done originally, but the endowed duo has added some more glamour and melody to the original sonata. With tinges of Afghan and Persian music, Zeb & Haniya steal the show with potent music and a luminous Rubab playing in the beginning by Sadiq Sameer. They beautifully maintain the essence and glitziness of the Dari language with a stellar performance and thrilling tune. As compared with the original version, the one with coke studio is more touching, thus remarkably capturing the right intimacy of music. The song “Bibi Sanam Janem” truly marks a modern-day rhythm that embarks its cultural history, linguistics and subtlety, while adding more instrumentation and dimension to it. Keep it up Coke Studio!

Radiance All Over With Coke Studio 3

 Published on www.koolmuzone.com, on 11th June, 2010, under Features Category

The coke studio season 3 is all in the air and a hot topic these days. The exciting season marks with Noori, Meesha Shafi, Karavan, Arif Lohar, Arieb Azhar, Abida Parveen, Zeb & Haniya, Saba Shabbir, Zoe Viccaji, and Sanam Saeed. Sanam and Zoe could be seen as the backing vocalists this time. Abida Parveen outshines the show with her mystical and deeply enriched style in “Ramooz-e-Ishq”. One cannot comment or critique on her performance and chic. She sounds miraculous every time. Simply don’t have words for it.  Zeb & Haniya steal the show with their highly applaudable “Bibi Sanam”, with Dari origin and saccharine Dari accent. After Pichal Pairee, one comes to realize this time the dominant vocals of Meesha in “Alif Allah”. Arieb Azhar has been able to envoke the original style with and sounds a bit extra this time with his cavernous, touching and poignant style. The magic of Abida Parveen and richness of Zeb & Haniya truly make the show magnificent. Karavan makes the show radiant with beautiful songs from their rocking album “Saara Jahan”. Asad Ahmed, whose marvelous music surpassed the act outstandingly, shared very blissfully,

“The coke studio sessions presented us with an opportunity to do some songs from the new album in an acoustic setting as opposed to the regular ROCK shows that we are famous for.In essence it made us rely on our songs rather than the sheer pandemonium that is a Karavan concert. Plus I think it’s kind of cool to appeal to a larger audience with songs like “Yaadein’ and “Kaisay Mumkin Hai”. I also must give props to the members of the house band as well as the girls on backing vocals they were all stellar. All in all is a great experience.”

Arieb Azhar who appeared in the first episode of Season 3 shared his views,

“Coke Studio – Season 3 has outdone itself. Even in the previous CS projects the level of professionalism was unparalleled in Pakistan, but this time, I feel, the content also is stronger and more rooted than before. This time it was an honor for me to perform alongside musicians, many of whom have been inspirations for me in my personal musical journey.”

It’s just a start of an expedition. There is still more to come. The episode 2 would air on 20thf June with EP, Zeb & Haniya, Noori, Amanat Ali, Fakir Juman Shah and Rizwan Muazzam. Stay tuned to it everyone, especially CS fans.

Humble & Down to Earth:

Hi everyone! I am a very patriotic and nationalist kind of politician. I love my country a lot and cannot bear any one looking at it with an evil eye. I am so humble, nice and caring that whenever I go, people gather around me and praise my work. I don’t care much about money and not at all a materialistic kind of person. I have never counted the money in my bank accounts. (My secretaries do it for me). I am always forced and requested to hold my seat. When it comes to jobs, candidates themselves come to me and tell me,
“Sir, your nephews and nieces deserve this post more than us.”
So I have to keep a regard for their wish. When it comes to land, I am not interested in acquiring acres of land. But the land owners request me to get it. I have presided so many meetings and processions, that I always hear speakers praising me. I thank God for granting me so many qualities. I have more than twenty air conditioners in my house. They are always on. I don’t feel like putting them on since we have power shortage, but people come to me and tell me,
“sir, we can live without electricity, please don’t put your ac off”.
I have to fulfill their wish. I have recently sent my nephew abroad on a scholarship. The other candidates came to me and said,
“Sir, your nephew deserves going abroad more than us.”
The candidates themselves left the study abroad position. I am your most obedient servant.

A Currency Friend

Rimsha was slightly upset today. She looked outside the window of her room. It was getting dark and about to rain heavily. The wild and dusty wind had started hitting the glass of windows. “Rimsha, it’s too dusty, please close the window,” her mom called.

She was upset but didn’t let it come on her face. Her mother was an excellent face reader. She had received a call from a very close and good college friend of hers that afternoon. She called Rimsha somewhere around afternoon.

“Hey listen, can you come to a room where there is no one else? I want to have a very confidential and important conversation with you. “

Rimsha went to the fax room to take your call.

She said,

 “I have a very good proposal for you but don’t discuss it with your mother now. We have studied together for three years but never asked you these things. We are looking for a girl for our brother. Tell me how much money; have your parents decided to give you at the time of marriage? What is your caste? Do you have a separate bank account or all joint with your parents? Would your parents give you a car and house in dowry too?”

Rimsha could not believe her words. She stayed quiet for some time and replied bitterly,

“Go ahead with the other questions too.” Her friend could not judge the anguish and satire in her voice and kept asking,

 “Are you doing some job these days, if yes how much is your salary, the boy wants a highly paid girl for himself. Tell me what do your relatives do? What are their ranks? Do you live in a rented house or have purchased it?”

 Rimsha found the last questions a bit reasonable.

Her friend continued,

“First the boy’s parents would come to meet your family. “ Rimsha and her parents had always hated greedy and materialistic people. Her family was more of an intellectual kind.

She decided at once,”I am sorry. I don’t think that my parents would cherish to entertain such people. They get annoyed over all thus. I know them very well. Kindly don’t send any one to my place.”

After finishing her telephonic talk, she came to her room. She at once decided:

“I would never tell my mom about it. This face-off of a friend is damn scary. This is how people change at the time of marriage. I shall be glad if they get the boy married to a 5000 Rs. Note”.

She wasn’t irritated over the stupid kind of demands but disliked the traditional kind “dowry “thing. She was progressive and her family too.

She had come across so many categories of friends like “promoting friends”, “close friends”, “supporting friends”, “best friends”, cooperative friends”, “affectionate friends”, “caring friends” and “loving friends”. She discovered a new category as “currency friends” that day. “There is is no need to have enemies if one has such friends. “She concluded.

Aladdin and the Status Quo

Aladdin rubs the lamp, genie appeared:

Genie: “What can I do for you master?”

Aladdin: Solve the electricity problem.

Genie: Please don’t ask me something too hard. Make any other wish please.

Aladdin: I want to marry Jasmine, the king’s daughter.

Genie: Master; all is exaggerated about her; she is not at all beautiful. And secondly, her parents want a boy who can get settled abroad after marriage.

Thirdly, they want a very wealthy boy for her. Make some other wish please.

Aladdin: Bring the prices down: inflation is too high and reaching its peak.

Genie: I am a genie and not an economist. I never knew that the coming times would be that hard. I would have done my graduation from some good institute.

Aladdin: I want a beautiful palace constructed on this land.

Genie: The CDA may not approve it and may demolish it afterwards; therefore, I cannot take the risk.

Aladdin: What kind of a genie are you? You cannot fulfill even a single wish.

Genie: I pertain to the old times. Modern man has so many problems that I cannot solve. They will have to

solve their problems themselves, instead of waiting for genies to help them.