Ustad Allah Bux: Connection of Art Creativity and Life

By Rai Muhammad Azlan Shahid

Art and creativity has some strong connection. All those art pieces touch the level of the masterpieces when the artwork embraces the creativity. The Mona Lisa of Leonardo, Gracon a la Pipe of Picasso, Massacre of the Innocents by Peter Paul Rubens, or any other masterpiece all had one thing common and that was creativity.

Pakistan orchestra reinvents jazz classics

A new orchestra in the Pakistani city of Lahore is causing some excitement in the world of jazz – and turning around their own fortunes at the same time.

For years, classical musicians in Pakistan have faced tough times. As well as the issues everyone else in the country is facing, their profession all but died.

Most had been making music for the Pakistani film industry but the increasing influence of religion in society, and the easy availability of Indian movies, meant the industry collapsed.

But the Sachal Orchestra is sparking something of a revival. Their first jazz album Sachal Jazz was released recently.

The veteran American jazz musician, Dave Brubeck, described their interpretation of one of his tracks as “the most interesting recording of it he has ever heard”.

Aleem Maqbool reports from Lahore.

Source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14232594

A NIGHT OUT IN (GREATER) LAHORE

Despite the bloody bombings and attacks, the magical liberation of Sufi shrines is irrepressible Virinder S Kalra Manchester (UK)

The bloody bombing at the shrine of Data Sahib in Lahore in 2010 dampened — but only for a few days — the enthusiasm of the worshippers who congregate in thousands there on a typical Thursday afternoon. From 2:30pm onwards, the cacophony of the crowd is disciplined by the tuneful, rhythmic sounds of Qawaali performers who play in the large hall under the main shrine. All of Pakistan’s well-known and not-so-well-known Qawaals have played here, often to crowds in their tens of thousands. As the sounds of the azaan call out to signal the time of the Maghrib Namaaz, the Qawaali stops. But this is not the end of the sounds of the harmonium and tabla in the city, but rather the start of a long evening which spans not only the urban expanse of Lahore, but also different periods in history and multiple musical forms.  Click here to read remaining article