Aman Ki Asha

2:35 AM | Author:

There HYDERABAD: At around 7.30 pm on Friday, the strains of the ‘azan’ streamed into the Chowmahalla Palace like they do every evening. Only this time, the ‘azan’ notes blended with those of the song that storyteller-singer Parvathy Baul was rendering to a spellbound audience.
The sadhvi from West Bengal with the ektara in one hand and the duggi in the other, took a sudden, graceful break and waited for the prayer time to pass before resuming her performance.
This was just one of the many magical moments at the ‘Aman Ki Asha’ concert organised by The Times of India at Chowmahalla Palace on Friday, an initiative that hopes to bring India and Pakistan together.
The beautifully lit Palace reverberated with the sound of oneness as India and Pakistan came together through the music of Baul and Arif Lohar, folk singer from Pakistan. The venue, located in the heart of Old City, illuminated with the melody of the two accomplished singers as they initiated a step towards friendship between the two nations, with the power of music.

If Baul’s Bengali songs crossed language barriers and moved the audience, Arif Lohar’s Sufi, folk and Juni music took the audience to another foot-tapping level, with the lilting notes played on the flute marking his entry on stage. He sang in Punjabi, deftly playing the ‘chimta’ along, with the catchy folk beats keeping Hyderabadis hooked. Dancing with his troupe in a colourful Punjabi attire and swaying to the beats of his songs, Lohar had the audience asking for more and obliged with Runa Laila’s “Damadam Mast Kalandar.”
Though from different sides of the border, the music of both the countries spoke of similar things like love, life and the almighty. The audience lauded the singers through the memorable evening, for which crowds had started assembling into the venue much before the show started.
The reception the two artistes received possibly showed that the city’s appreciation was not just limited to culture but also the peace initiative which hopes to bring the two neighbours together.
The event drew to a close with a 15-minute jugalbandi of the two artistes calling for Aman Ki Asha.

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Aman ki Asha - Videos

12:55 AM | Author:

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Aman ki Asha -Anthem

12:54 AM | Author:

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Two voices sing one anthem for Indo-Pak -Aman ki Asha

3:44 AM | Author:

Two voices sing one anthem for Indo-Pak
Shankar Mahadevan and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan lend voice to Gulzar’s lyrics for Aman ki Asha — an initiative by Times of India and Pakistan’s Jang
Reagan Gavin Rasquinha
Times News Network

An anthem, written by Gulzar and sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan as part of Aman ki Asha - the cultural and emotional people-to-people peace initiative by The Times of India and Pakistan's Jang Group has been released. It's sung in Urdu, naturally, because language is one of the first big things common to both nations. Followed by an unequivocal love for music, films, the fine arts... all based on a common culture that was tragically cut down the middle on August 15, 1947. Now Aman Ki Asha seeks to build bridges between the people of the two nations 63 years after Partition (or is it Independence?) starting with the campaign's tune called Nazar Mein Rehete Ho Jab Tum Nazar Nahi Aate. It has taken on a life of its own and become a full-fledged song already, dispelling ignorance and fostering trust, based on the fervent belief that Indians and Pakistanis want peace and stability.
BT dropped in on Gulzar and Shankar when they were recording the song for Aman Ki Asha at a Mumbai studio. Shankar, who put together the vocals and tune for Nazar Mein Rehte... said, "It has a heart-to-heart appeal, sounds warm and personal, and through its simple message of brotherhood between both sides of the border represents something that everybody would love to see happen. It took me just a minute to get the melody. Certain lyrics in this song are so powerful that they just reach at you and dictate a melody. While reading Gulzarsaab's lyrics, I spontaneously sang it, and that was the melody."

Gulzar, who provided the words to the song, was full of praise for Shankar. "The spontainety that comes from him is unmatchable," he said. As for Rahat's contribution, Mahadevan added, "We're planning to use his voice from Pakistan. We've worked together in Bollywood and our chemistry is heart-to-heart. We apprecaite each other and love each other's music. It's a lovely relationship. We're going to send the music to him and he's going to overdub his parts."
You may catch Nazar Mein Rehte... on Times Now and Radio Mirchi from today, the lyrics are contagious, especially the lines Nazar Mein Rehte Ho Jab Tum Nazar Nahi Aati, Yeh Sur Bulatey Hai Jab Tum Idhar Nahi Aati... Of the song, Gulzar said: "This subject is very close to my heart. I was born in Dina, Pakistan, so I have a soft corner for that country. There is not a day where I don't talk to someone about this, Being an Urdu writer, that's my playground and I have got a lot of recognition there. This friendship is inborn; so there is no 'effort' involved in being friends with them. At the same time, what's all this about 'differences' between Indians and Pakistanis? Are there no differences between Indians? You must meet one-to-one respectfully, give and receive respect."
(Courtesy :Times of India)

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Aman Ki Asha

4:52 AM | Author:


	Two voices sing one anthem for Indo-Pak

  There's going to be a new anthem for India and Pakistan, written
  by Gulzar and sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Rahat Fateh Ali
  Khan as part of Aman ki Asha.

Peace between India and Pakistan has been stubbornly elusive

and yet tantalizingly inevitable. This vast subcontinent

senses the bounties a peace dividend can deliver to its

people yet it recoils from claiming a share. The natural

impulse would be to break out of the straitjacket of stated

positions and embrace an ideal that promises sustained

prosperity to the region, yet there is hesitation.

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