Kashmir is not a place to be remembered for lofty mountains and tourist spots only. It has always been a land of great musicians as well. The history and tradition of music in the Valley goes thousands of years back. The music of Kashmir has always been a subject of great interest and appeal.
But the irony is that Kashmiris have become mechanical, and they dont have time to listen and appreciate art. Music in Kashmir seems to be one of the dying arts. Parvaaz is the brainchild of two extremely talented young musicians from Kashmir. The band comprises Khalid on lead vocals; Kashif Iqbal on the lead guitar, Sachin Banadur on the drums and Fidel DSouza on the bass. The music of Parvaaz is a blend of blues, rock and Sufi music. The bands first ever album Behosh, which comprised of five songs, got an overwhelming response from the music lovers. I just loved every single song of the album.
The music is so soulful and it soothes your senses, says Suhail Ahmad who calls himself a big fan of the band Parvaaz. We sing Kashmiri songs outside Kashmir and people connect to it very well. They dont understand the language but they understand the music, says Khalid Ahmad, the lead vocalist and one of the pioneers of the Sufi- Rock band Parvaaz. Kashif and I are childhood friends and we met in Bangalore whilst we both were perusing our degrees there. We used to play together and thought of forming a band. But we needed a drummer and a bassist and luckily we met Sachin and Fidel. They dont understand Kashmiri at all.
They can just about take in a little bit of Urdu. But finally, it is the Music that connects four of us, says Ahmad. When we first performed, we were not so positive about the response because our songs were mostly in Kashmiri and Urdu. However, it was the music that touched the hearts of the audiences and we got an unexpected positive response, he further added. Parvaaz has more than a thousand likes on Facebook.
The songs speak about the different experiences of life by blending the rich literature of Kashmiri and Urdu poetry with their beautiful music compositions. The band has played in different states like Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kerala and Shillong and won five college festivals during the year 2010. The duo doesnt have a professional training in music. But their hypnotic voices grab hold of everyone, be it a child or a fifty year old. You should always enjoy what you are doing and I think that is the mantra of achieving success. Whatever you sing, it should have a soul. We have a couple of shows lined up in the coming months but we are still waiting for a big moment to happen, says Kashif. Being a Kashmiri, I have never played here because people hardly know us and they are less supportive. Also, Kashmir has no infrastructure when it comes to organizing such events. So there is no platform available for us to perform, further adds Kashif. We (Parvaaz) believe that people outside are very warm and kind. They hear you and value your talent. We have one such lady with us who oversees everything for us and charges nothing. Her name is Eva Moncada. She manages our events, looks after the emails, social networking pages etc.
Its very difficult to find such people in todays world. While talking about family support, the duo says that their family didnt accept it initially but now they are also encouraging us because they have realized that we are meant only for music. Music is our life and spirit and we will continue to spread the message of peace and love through music. It is our dream that one day we play for our own motherland Kashmir. And we hope this day comes soon. Till then we have no plans of staying in Kashmir. The message Parvaaz wants to give our readers is Go to Facebook, check our page and give your valuable feedback.
The Story Was Published In The Kashmir Observer’s ‘YOUNG KASHMIR’ – Kashmir’s First Supplement For Young Adults And Teens
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