Jingle Bells, Soap Bubbles and other such (IV)

For the love of my country…

This is another in the series that talks about Shafqat Amanat  Ali’s patriotic songs

Our hearts where they rocked our cradle, Our love where we spent our toil,

And our faith, and our hope, and our honor, We pledge to our native soil.

God gave all men all earth to love, But since our hearts are small,

Ordained for each one spot should prove, Beloved over all.

~Rudyard Kipling

It is that time of the year, where the entire UAE, my current country of residence, gets into a celebratory mood. The national day is around the corner and the festivities are on. The red, green, white and black colors are everywhere- as merchandise in shops, as flags, big and small- adorning houses and official buildings, as the bright lights twinkling and lighting up all prominent landmarks across the country… and all this warms my heart and fills it with pride for the country that I have called home for the last 7 years.

I have always been quite emotional when it comes to patriotism. I still set an alarm to wake up on the morning of 15th August to see the Prime Minister unfurl the tricolor at the Red fort. I still love to sit through the entire telecast of the Republic Day parade on the morning of 26th January, if I get a chance. Give me a sports team singing their national anthem along with their supporters in a packed stadium, or an athlete who just won a medal for his country looking with tremendous pride at the flag of the country being hoisted…or even the soppiest patriotic Bollywood movie scene (remember the Jan Gan Man singing one from KJo’s K3G?) and you will find me with a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye..

In an interview,interestingly to a Pakistani TV channel, Lata Mangeshkar while remembering Noor Jehan mentions the beautiful patriotic songs that the latter has sung. When asked further on how an artist feels when they sing a song for their country, she says that it is a matter both of duty and pride…

Pride and passion both certainly reflect in his voice as Shafqat Amanat Ali sings these tributes for armed forces of his country…

Pasbaan

Jazba

Ever wondered how Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Shafqat would sound if they sang together? You can find out right here on this video where they get together to sing about the challenges of fighting terror in their country

And here is another where he teams up with Najam Shiraz

A peppy, motivational one with Fariha Parvez 

But saving the best for the last- one of the best patriotic songs, ever, in my opinion- And it gives me goose bumps to listen to its live, and heartfelt rendition by Shafqat, here

Another live rendition

The song was rendered originally by Shafqat’s father, the great Ustad Amanat Ali and this is the video, a tribute to the late Ustad,  that features the original song in his voice. It is also features Shafqat and his son and represents beautifully the handing down of music, culture, and values like patriotism from one generation to another.

“I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him,” said Abraham Lincoln. His songs definitely reflect his love for his country and I am sure his country feels proud to have a son like Shafqat Amanat Ali.

Jingle Bells, Soap Bubbles & Other Such... (III)

Keeping the Music Alive..

This one talks about the songs Shafqat has sung as a tribute to various artists- musicians and composers

"The only thing better than singing is more singing" ~ Ella Fitzgerald

Noor Jehan

In a radio interview an RJ asked Shafqat Amanat Ali, "Who is the one female singer in Pakistan that you would choose to sing a duet with?" "Madam Noor Jehan," was his instant reply. The legendary singer, who enthralled generations in the sub-continent with her sweet and melodious voice, the one who was aptly conferred the title of "Mallika - e- Tarannum" is the pride not just of Pakistan but of music lovers across the subcontinent.

Here is Shafqat paying her a tribute by singing one of her songs. This was when he was a part of the Fuzon band

And this is the original by the legend herself 

The closest thing that can help one to imagine how Shafqat would have sounded if he sang with Noor Jehan  would be  this duet of hers for a Pakistani film which she sang with  Shafqat’s father, the great Ustad Amanat Ali.

****

Ustad Amanat Ali Khan/ Asad Amanat Ali

 

Shafqat maintains that one of the greatest inspirations for his music is his own father who enjoyed a great amount of popularity and respect among the music lovers in the 60’s. Not only was he an accomplished classical vocalist, he is also ranked among the finest Ghazal singers of all times.

Shafqat recalled a very interesting anecdote related to his father in a TV interview recently. In the 60’s there was a particularly bad year in Pakistan where the monsoons had been much delayed causing a lot of woe, especially to the farmers. The great Ustad, a firm believer in the power of music, suggested to one of his radio producers that they should compose a prayer to God requesting him to end the plight. Legend has it, that as the song was being aired on the radio, the first drops of the monsoon actually began to fall…

Here’s Shafqat singing the same song

He sings one of his father’s ghazal  here and also pays tribute to his brother Asad Amanat Ali, another star of the family.

Hothon pe kabhi unke mera naam bhi aaye- is one of the most popular ghazals rendered by Ustad Amanat Ali and one of my favorites. And Kisi aur gham mein itni khalish e niha nahi hai would probably make it to the top 3 of my all-time favorite ghazals

Here are the original renditions by the maestros

Both the brothers have paid a tribute of their father by singing one of his songs together.

The original

You can see that both the brothers have inherited their father’s singing traits. While Asad has more of the khanak, the joyful tinkle in the voice and the ability to play with the notes, Shafqat has inherited the calmness, the sukoon, the ease, as well as the ability to explore and pursue the notes to their ultimate height or depth!

Read about and hear Shafqat’s rendition of Asad Amanat Ali’s famous Punjabi song Umra Langiaan- in this blog post 

****

Mehdi Hassan

"He had a very mellow and melodious voice with an immense command on diction at the same time. You don’t need anything else to make an outstanding singer,"- Shafqat Amanat Ali about the Mehdi Hassan after the passing away of the Ghazal King

Here's Shafqat singing his "Zindagi mein to sabhi pyaar kiya kartein hain"

And Mehdi Hassan’s live rendition 

And here he sings a Mehdi Hassan song composed by the great composer Sohail Rana

The original

*****

Sohail Rana is also the composer of the very popular Aaj Jaane Ki zid na karo- read more about Shafqat’s rendition of the song as a tribute to the composer here

Jagjit Singh

One of the most popular Ghazal singers, ever, whom we lost not so long ago… and when the industry joined hands to pay him a tribute , Shafqat Amanat Ali was there, too, with this ghazal of his

The original

****

Bollywood retro

And when I hear Shafqat sing..

Lata Mangeshkar ‘s Allah tero naam

Hemant Kumar’s Ye Nayan dare dare

Rafi’s Ajhun na aaye balma & Din dhal jaaye

Kishore’s tere bina zindagi se koi ( towards the end of  this video) 

http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/244220/wish-i-had-sung-tere-bina-zindagi-se-koi-shafqat.html

And above all  Saigal's (unfortunately only on a TV promo, and thus very briefly)  main kya jaanu kya jadoo hai
(for  a show on Geo TV- if someone has a video of it please do share)

I start thinking that Shafqat should formally sing some of the golden classics from Bollywood for an album. I even have a wish list…

• Kasme wade pyar wafa  by Manna Dey
• Koi sagar dil ko and Man re tu kahe na dheer dhare by Rafi
• Wo sham kuch ajeeb thi by Kishore
• Sajnwa bairi ho gaye and Kahin door jab din dhal jaaye by Mukesh…and the list could go on and on…

As they say... if wishes were horses... :)