Cross posted from The 91st Minute
This is how I know I haven't been home in too long.
When BBC news beats me to the scope about the first popular all girl band in Pakistan. Zeb and Haniya, they told me, have taken the Pakistani male-dominated scene by storm!
A lil background, they are referring to fusion-ish soft rock Urdu language music scene in Pakistan that I think aptly reflects the silent moderate majority, particularly in the urban areas. This scene has produced peeps like Atif Aslam, Noorie et al. who are quite a hit, not just in Pakistan but South-Asia and South-Asian diaspora's (so almost everywhere). The lyrics are beautiful and poetic, the vocals pretty dam good and a few guitar riffs that make me wanna actually jump up and down, rocker girl style (hah!)
So anyway, kinda distressed that I was so out of it that I had missed the Zeb and Haniya story for 5 MONTHS! I spent all last night listening to their album, watching the videos and reading stuff. My conclusion: I think the vocals are good, some really cool riffs, and the reaction to them has blown me away!
Check out this you tube video of them rocking a crowd out (sound is a lil sketchy):
I spent most of my young adult life going to concerts like these, and ill be damned if I ever thought two young, kurta donning women would be getting this kind of a reception. Not cause I doubt the music ability, but more cause I was skeptical of the ability of young Pakistani youth (men in particular) to appreciate it. Thank you for proving my skepticism wrong!
Ok now to the songs. Here is a link where you can stream the album. I would recommend Paimana Bitte, Chup and Aitebar even if you can't follow Urdu. If you can, hear most of the album.
And can I say I kinda love some of their lyrics. They are still singing about love and relationships, but their lyrics are down right fiery!
Watch this video of Aitebar. The couple on screen dance through their relationship and the video ends with the girl shutting the dude out. The lyrics at the end? "raat thi teri/tu yeh din ab hai mera" i.e. "The night was yours/ but the day is mine now"
And skip to the end of the video, the eye contact between the woman and Zeb and Haniya who are singing from the side through out the video, that look. We know that look. You go girl! lol
One last mention, the song "Rona Chor diya" or "I have stopped crying." My favorite line:
"ab to bas mai hi khabar hoon/ gardish main hoon/ rahguzar hoon/toofaan hoon main/ tera darr hoon" which roughly translate into "now only I'm the news/ I'm the revolution/I am walking on my own path/ I'm a storm/ I am your fear"
Ok THIS is the last mention, the song Chup! Chup is basically a semi curt/forceful way of telling someone to stop talking. Shut up if you will. In this song they are talking about the flirtation, eye contact etc that can sometimes go on painfully forever between two people attracted to each other. What do Zeb and Haniya have to say? "shhh Chup" enough with all this flirtation and suggestion. lets get on with it! WORD.
Showing posts with label Pakistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pakistan. Show all posts
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
There it is ...
Fighting Terrorism is Pakistan's most pressing and urgent priority.
Great. Just fuckin great.
The last year has been tumultuous in Pakistan, politically, economically and socially. Many people who witnessed the state of affairs in Pakistan following former PM Benazir Bhutto's violent assassination, including yours truly, were fearful for the very existence of the country. However in the last three months we have seen some sort of a political process emerge from the ruins of repeated military dictatorships that planted a seed of hope (however small) in even the most pesismistic of Pakistanis. A year of political agitation surrounding the dismissal of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court combined with increasing political stupidity and arrogance of the military administration, a population fed up of daily violence, food and power shortages. The result: a historic election that showed the US backed military rulers, their croonies and non-secular Islamic parties the door.
What followed was even more unique and promising. Two political parties that have hated each other's guts for the last twenty year came together to form a political coalition, seemingly determined to not only curtail the powers of President General (retd.) P.Musharraf but to restore the independence of the judiciary, and begin an inclusive peaceful dialog with militant separatist movements instead of bombing the shit out of them. The new parliament includes the first female Speaker and a Prime Minister from a religious minority sect (shia) that has popular support. There is strong presence of the ANP, which gives much needed secular representation to the violence ridden NWFP. The parliament is being called the Rainbow Coalition in the Media!
What can I say ... I got my hopes up. Just a lil bit mind you ... but I did. I mean hell, the new leaders refused to promise the US that their homeboy's future would be safe:
"ISLAMABAD, March 25: The Pakistan People’s Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-N have refused to give any assurance to the United States about the future of President Pervez Musharraf, saying that every matter would now be debated in parliament.
In separate meetings with US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher on Tuesday, leaders of the two parties said they wanted to make parliament a sovereign institution and all policy issues, including the ‘war on terror’, would now be discussed there."
Imagine the audacity, telling the US that our decisions would be sovereign. And the US was fretting that shit for a second ... stepping up their attacks on "terrorist targets" in Pakistan afraid that the new government wouldn't let them violate our sovereignty. So they send over Assistant Secretary of State Boucher to Pakistan on the day that our first democratic anything in eight years is being sworn in. Just a reminder you know, in case we forget who our daddy is.
And now a few days later, here we have it. Pakistan's top priority is not dealing with crippling flour and sugar shortages, consistent 8 - 24 hour long power outages, education (or lackthereof), water shortage, poverty, or the economy. No it is fighting terror. Yes sir.
Great. Just fuckin great.
The last year has been tumultuous in Pakistan, politically, economically and socially. Many people who witnessed the state of affairs in Pakistan following former PM Benazir Bhutto's violent assassination, including yours truly, were fearful for the very existence of the country. However in the last three months we have seen some sort of a political process emerge from the ruins of repeated military dictatorships that planted a seed of hope (however small) in even the most pesismistic of Pakistanis. A year of political agitation surrounding the dismissal of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court combined with increasing political stupidity and arrogance of the military administration, a population fed up of daily violence, food and power shortages. The result: a historic election that showed the US backed military rulers, their croonies and non-secular Islamic parties the door.
What followed was even more unique and promising. Two political parties that have hated each other's guts for the last twenty year came together to form a political coalition, seemingly determined to not only curtail the powers of President General (retd.) P.Musharraf but to restore the independence of the judiciary, and begin an inclusive peaceful dialog with militant separatist movements instead of bombing the shit out of them. The new parliament includes the first female Speaker and a Prime Minister from a religious minority sect (shia) that has popular support. There is strong presence of the ANP, which gives much needed secular representation to the violence ridden NWFP. The parliament is being called the Rainbow Coalition in the Media!
What can I say ... I got my hopes up. Just a lil bit mind you ... but I did. I mean hell, the new leaders refused to promise the US that their homeboy's future would be safe:
"ISLAMABAD, March 25: The Pakistan People’s Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-N have refused to give any assurance to the United States about the future of President Pervez Musharraf, saying that every matter would now be debated in parliament.
In separate meetings with US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher on Tuesday, leaders of the two parties said they wanted to make parliament a sovereign institution and all policy issues, including the ‘war on terror’, would now be discussed there."
Imagine the audacity, telling the US that our decisions would be sovereign. And the US was fretting that shit for a second ... stepping up their attacks on "terrorist targets" in Pakistan afraid that the new government wouldn't let them violate our sovereignty. So they send over Assistant Secretary of State Boucher to Pakistan on the day that our first democratic anything in eight years is being sworn in. Just a reminder you know, in case we forget who our daddy is.
And now a few days later, here we have it. Pakistan's top priority is not dealing with crippling flour and sugar shortages, consistent 8 - 24 hour long power outages, education (or lackthereof), water shortage, poverty, or the economy. No it is fighting terror. Yes sir.
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