Kerala honours Pakistani ghazal legend Ghulam Ali

Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali being accorded a warm reception on his arrival at the airport in Trivandrum on Wednesday. - PTI

Cutting across political, religious and language barriers, the southern Indian state Kerala on Thursday honoured Pakistani ghazal maestero Ghulam Ali, who was turned away from Mumbai by Shiv Sena.
While the state government organised a banquet for him in the state capital on Thursday, Swaralaya, a cultural organisation, honoured him with their first 'Swaralaya Global Legandary' award.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and deputy opposition leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan jointly presented the award to the renowned Pakistani singer. Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan presented the citation to the singer.
Speaker N Sakthan honoured Ali, who was declared as a state guest, on behalf of the Kerala state legislative assembly. A special music composition produced by well-known composer-singer M. Jayachandran was played at the banquet.
The song, Salaam Ghulam Ali was written by Manoj Yadav and sung by Nivas. Filmmaker T.K. Rajeev Kumar will film Ghulam Ali's tryst with Trivandrum in a 20-minute documentary being produced by him.
The film captures the moments when poet Balachandran Chullikkad, who penned a poem on the Ustad and his music in 1984, meets the ghazal legend again in Trivandrum. In the poem, the poet had imagined an evening of glorious music with the Ustad. He wrote those evocative lines when the hate campaign against artistes was simmering in Mumbai. Rajeev said that the poem had become relevant now as the hatred had only intensified over the years.
"I am capturing the moments when the poet meets his muse in person in the state capital" said Rajeev explaining that such cultural ventures were the need of the hour in these troubled times. He hopes that Ghulam Ali's music acts a balm to ease the tension.
Ali, who is accompanied by a ten-member troupe, will regale the music afficandoes in Trivandrum on Friday and in the northern city of Calicut on Sunday. The concerts are being organised jointly by 'Swaralaya' and the state tourism department. Though the Shiva Sena protested the visit, the state police did not allow its activists to disrupt his programmes in the city.
On the contrary, a few leaders of its ally - the Bharatiya Janata Party - joined the people in welcoming the guest. Welcoming Ali into Kerala, BJP spokesperson V V Rajesh said that he will be present at the Nishagandhi auditorium in Trivandrum to listen to the voice of the world-renowned ghazal singer. "When the mesmerising revolutionary music brims in a turbulent contemporary world, belittling the borders of religion, nations and politics, I will also be there with you," he said in his Facebook page.
BJP general secretary K Surendran came down heavily on the Sena for their move to burn the effigy of the singer. In his post in the Facebook, Surendran said that the protest by a section a people against the concert was deplorable. - news@khaleejtimes.com