Ghazal maestro’s performance leaves audience asking for more

It was a delightful week for cultural and literary fan lovers. In the first event, named “Mehfil-2018”, ghazal maestro Ustad Ghulam Abbas Khan of famous Rampur Sahaswan Gharana left audience awe struck at the newly renovated Lt Col Karnan Singh auditorium. 

Ustad Ghulam dedicated his performance to the Indian soldiers and Brig JS Budhwar, Brig Ajith Nilakantan, Lt Col Shashikala and Capt Ashok Sethi were part of the audience. Mayor Anil Vasudeva and SDM Amit Mahajan were also present on the occasion.

Ghazal enthusiasts had a gala time and urged that cultural evenings dedicated to the soldiers should be held on regular basis.

“Singing ghazals is a vanishing art. The Bollywood and Pollywood songs that one hears have absolutely no meaningful lyrics. Performance of Ustad Ghulam came as a gush of fresh air. He did full justice to the immortal hits of Mehdi Hasan, Ghulam Ali and Jagjit Singh,” said mayor Vasudeva.

Pathankot has a high population of serving and former army men. There is a saying that city’s economy is largely rely on the Mamun cantonment and Air Force base.

Open border to enable exchange of ideas: Writers 

The second event “Kalman Da Kafila”, saw top Punjabi writers at a common platform. Prominent among those who were present included Bishan Dass, Balwinder Balam, Ashok Chitarkar, Raaz Gurdaspuri and Priyanka Paras. Bishan Dass was elected as “Kafile Da Sardar” and from now onwards it would be his responsibility to organise such events in future.

“Our aim is to promote and preserve Punjabi literature and carry it forward for future generations,” said Dass.

Balwinder Balam said that borders should be opened for writers to exchange ideas.

“Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language. It is the native language of about 130 million people, and is the 10th most spoken language in the world. Most of the people who speak Punjabi live in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. Therefore, authorities must open the borders to ensure a healthy exchange of ideas,” said Balam.ble defects should be rectified first,” he added.