Pakistani Australians – Best Overseas Pakistani Community

I got opportunity to watch the Pakistan – South Africa T20 match, a game which was part of the ongoing T20 Cricket World Cup, at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) few days ago. Our team was not performing well at that time and had lost two pool matches against our traditional rival India and Zimbabwe.

However, when I reached the venue I was highly impressed to see that a large number of Pakistanis from Sydney and other cities of Australia had travelled to support Green Shirts on a weekday. I also had taken one large Pakistani flag with me. Pakistanis were dancing Bhangra around Dhol players and were so excited.

Later we all moved to the ground and took our allocated seats. More than 90% of the spectators were supporting Pakistan. South Africa had very little presence of their fans in the ground. The game started and as usual our opening batting pair Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan couldn’t score well once again. I was expecting that crowd would chant slogans against them, but to my surprise no one criticised them but welcomed the next batsmen. They kept supporting the team. Not only this, but they also appreciated the South African players whenever they took a wicket or scored a four or sixer.

Other thing that impressed me was our general behaviour towards each other. A Pakistani family sitting next to me offered food, although we had never met before. All over the stadium there was a great harmony between Pakistani people belonging from different areas in Pakistan. The most appreciable thing was that no one chanted a slogan against the present Pakistani government or the armed forces, which I was expecting due to the current political instability in Pakistan.

I can proudly claim that Pakistani Australians are the best overseas Pakistanis in the world who are patriot, mature and open hearted. No matter someone is from Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Multan, Haiderabad, Faislabad, Gilgit, Peshawar or any part of Pakistan, they all love each other and support our sports teams.

So…. The good news is that we are going to play the final match of T20 World Cup at the MCG (also known as ‘G’ locally). In 1992 MCG proved very lucky for us when we beat England in the final of ICC World Cup, under the captaincy of Imran Khan. Now, We will play once again against England, under the captaincy of Babar Azam, who is in his form once again. I wish our team the very best of luck and hope that history will repeat itself and Insha Allah we will lift the trophy once again… aur who bhi Melbournce mein 😊.

Riaz Shah Night – a memorable tribute

 

Riaz Shah Sahib was a Pakistani born Australian, who was known as Muhammad Rafi of Sydney among the Sub-continent and Fiji communities in Australia. He was from Dera Ghazi Khan originally and spent a large part of his life in Sydney. Music was his passion and Rafi Sahib was his ideal. He always loved singing Rafi’s songs in private partied and music programs. Besides he had a very good sense of humour. He had a large fan base and many of his younger friends took him as their mentor. He was one of the pioneers who started Urdu radio programs in Sydney. Zahid Minhas was one of his most important friends. On the musical side Tariq Mahmood and Yahya Khan were very close to him and Yahya claims that he was his genuine student who learnt art of singing from him.

Riaz Shah Sahib had a cardiac arrest on the morning of 1^st August 2018 (last year) and could not survive. His sudden death made his friends and acquaintances very sad. A large number of people from different backgrounds attended his funeral.

After few months of his death Mr. Arshad Butt organized a memorial musical program for giving him the tribute where many singers including me performed songs and shared our memories with the audience. However the function was not a very big one.

On 17^th of August 20, 2019 Mr. Tariq Mahmood organized a proper program in the memory of his beloved friend. Riaz Shah Night proved a big success. A large number of people attended program and enjoyed listening to the talks and amazing musical performances by Tariq, Yahya, Wasim, Razia, Nitya, Priya Das, Yaseen Ali, Sonu, Sandhya, Vinod and myself. Song selection was too good and everyone delivered their best. I sang Zoheb Hasan’s Zara Chehra Tou Dikhao on my own recorded music. Others performed songs of Rafi, Kishore and Lata on karaoke tracks. But all sang very good. Yahya’s sound system was very good and delievered high quality sound.

Nadeem Nadvi, who especially flew from Melbourne and hosted the show, gave a superb performance. Zahid Minhas shared his beautiful memories with Shah Sahib. Riaz Shah Sahib’s daughters were also present at the event and they were called on stage and presented flowers by Mrs. Tariq.

This beautiful night continued till 11:00 pm and everyone congratulated the organizers for the success of event.

Christchurch Massacre and lesson for us (in Urdu)

 

Australia needs to learn from US’s experience

I got a chance of visiting the United States in 2015. Purpose was to spend holidays with some friends. At the same time I wanted to explore the secret of America’s amazing development in the areas of engineering, IT and entertainment (films and music). I came to know through my friend who was working in Google there that in the US you can achieve any top notch position if you have got talent and the right skills.

I met my school time tutor who was running his engineering consultancy successfully in Sacramento, California. I was amazed to know that he was working on US Defence projects being a Pakistani born Muslim. US has given opportunity to every single immigrant regardless of their creed and culture. CEOs of Google and Microsoft were born in India. Former US President Mr. Barrack Obama’s father had migrated to the US from Kenya. He was the first non-white US president.

UK also has set some good examples in encouraging people to lead who were born overseas and then migrated there. London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s family migrated to the UK many years ago from Pakistan.

In Australia I always have experienced that there is a fear or uncertainty. Both leading political parties Labor and Liberal give more than 90% of tickets to the white Australians. They however offer tickets to the migrant Australians mainly from those areas where they don’t have good chances to win. Similarly in the job market you hardly find any immigrant working at top level.

Australia has got lot of talented people who need equal opportunities because they are Australians no matter where they were born. We are Australians and we expect that the society embraces us just like any other Australian. I am 100% sure that together we can make Australia a real great country like USA and UK.

A beautiful Mushaira (poetry evening) with Khalid Masood Khan in Sydney

Mahi Arts and Culture is a Sydney based organisation which was founded by famous Urdu and Punjabi poet Mr. Zafar Khan in 2012. They have been organising musical evenings and stage dramas where well known Pakistani artists performed in front of their overseas brothers and sisters.

On Saturday, 14 July 2018 they organised a Mushaira in the honour of famous witty poet and columnist Mr. Khalid Masood Khan who was on a private visit to Australia to see his family. Function was organised in beautiful hall of Desi Lounge Restaurant in Harris Park where a large number of fans came to listen to Khalid sahib and renowned local Urdu poets Noshi Gilani, Ather Khan, Abbas Gilani, Zafar Khan, Saeed Khan and Arshad Saeed. Sydney based company DJazz provided the sound system.

Shahid JAved (DJazz) performing Jaan-e-Jaan song

Programme started around 7:30 pm and Zafar Khan after welcoming the guests asked Shahid Javed (DJazz) to start the programme with his song. Shahid is nephew of Mr. Khalid Masood and is a recording artist, vocalist and keyboardist. He sang his hit song Jaan-e-Jaan live and got great appreciation. Then Zafar Khan invited master of the ceremony (صدر مشاعرہ) Mr. Ather Khan to formally start the poetry session. Mr. Ather presented few nice ghazals and poems from his side. He then invited Mr. Saeed Khan who also presented very nice poetry and got appreciation from all. He was followed by Zafar Khan who shared his Urdu and Punjabi masterpieces and impressed everyone in the hall with his beautiful words.

After Zafar Khan, now very famous poetess Noshi Gilani came to the stage and recited her beautiful and popular poems. She was very warmly applauded for her poetry. Senior poet Mr. Abbas Gilani followed her and like others he also shared his lovely poems and ghazals. Arshad Saeed reached the venue during Mr. Gilani’s turn. He was then invited to share his poetic creations. Like others Mr. Saeed also got good response from the audience.

Now it was the time for which all the audience had been waiting patiently. Finally Mr. Ather Khan asked Mr. Khalid Masood Khan to come forward and give his long awaited performance which included not only his humorous poetry but also very funny and witty talk. Mr. Khan gave more than 40 minutes of amazing performance which brought laughter on every face. People enjoyed listening to his popular comic poetry and related funny incidents and talk.

This programme ended around 9:00 pm followed by very spicy and tasty dinner. All the guests got mingled with their favourite poets and made pictures with them. Zafar Khan especially thanked Mr. Khalid Masood Khan for accepting their invitation, and Mr. Shahid Javed for providing the sound system.

Rafi Night 2017 – a beautiful musical evening!

Mohammad Rafi is regarded as one of the most popular playback singers from India. His songs are listened even today, after so many years he passed away.

Riaz Shah is a highly talented Sydney based Pakistani singer who is known as ‘Mohammad Rafi of Australia’. He loves to sing Rafi’s evergreen songs. For last so many years, Shah has been organising a tributary concert every year for Mohammad Rafi sahib. In these concerts, many other singers join always felt that the karaoke music ruined the events. Unbalanced music and vocals never impressed me in spite of the very good voices.

This year Riaz Shah decided to bring real musicians on stage and he and other singers did lot of rehearsals with the band His Master Orchestra. Event was organised in Chester Hill RSL Club. It was attended by a reasonable number of people from Pakistani, Indian, Bangali and Fijian communities. Riaz Shah, Waseem Shah, Tariq Mahmood, Manzar Mirza, Shahid Malik, Priya Das, Razia Sulatana and others sang songs of Mohammad Rafi live with the orchestra on their back.

Event can be simply be regarded as the best musical event of the year. Lot of people danced on the songs and highly appreciated the singers and musicians. Everyone left with a pleasant feeling. We congratulate Riaz Shah and his team for entertaining us in such a wonderful way and we look forward to attend more such evening in the future organised by them.

Our attitude as Pakistani and Indian expatriates in Australia

When I migrated to Australia permanently in 2010 I decided to make this beautiful country my home. I taught my daughters that Australia is our home and we should feel proud on being residents of such a beautiful and developed country. However later I realised that unfortunately many Australian citizens who were born in India still show their hatred towards Pakistani born Australians. Few good people fighting against this negative attitude are Ejaz Khan, Zahid Minhas(serving the community through Radio Dosti program for last 20 years), Balbir Singh, Maqsood Nagi, Shagufta Zia, Rekha Maharaj Vikas Paul and Lucky Singh. I also try to promote friendship between Pakistani and Indian born Australians wherever possible.

Recently Sydney saw a sad incident that affected these efforts badly. Indian film awards show IFFAA was being organised here in which renowned Pakistani artists were also invited by the organisers. Tickets were selling very fast and Subcontinent community was eagerly waiting for the date of event. All of a sudden the event got cancelled. Initially the organisers informed that due to tensions between India and Pakistan, the Pakistani artists would not be participating in the event, and later they cancelled the whole event. Vikas Paul was one of the main organisers. He told later that he and other organisers received threats from RSS (Indian extremist religious group) members in Australia that they would not let it happen and would attack Indian celebrities in their own country who were participating in the event. On their pressure management decided to drop Pakistani artists initially and later cancelled the whole event.

It’s not something new. India has got more extremists than Pakistan has. In Pakistan religious vote makes 2.5% of the total votes cast, whereas in India RSS supported BJP got 60% of the total cast votes in their last polls.

I would like to request my Australian friends from India and Pakistan to take each other as Australians, not Indian or Pakistani. We much promote love and respect for each other so that we could create a better environment here. Anyone who promotes hatred must be left alone.

Advance Australia Fair

Pakistan Zindabad – Jay Hind

Kumar Sanu Concert – A night to remember!

It was in 1990 when I first time heard the voice of Kumar Sanu after release of Bollywood super hit film Ashiqui (عاشقی). He was introduced as playback singer by the music producer duo Nadeem-Shravan. Kumar’s beautiful voice made everyone his fan. After this initial success he didn’t stop and gave wonderful songs to the Indian film industry.

On 30^th of July 2016 one of my biggest wishes got fulfilled when I got a chance of listening to this great singer live in Sydney. Whitlam Leisure Centre in Liverpool was jam packed with 2500 people who had gathered to experience one of the best Bollywood performances. Sadhna Sargam was there with Kumar Sanu to make the evening a memorable one. Concert started around 7:30 pm with the performance of a young Indian female singer Rachna Chopra. She sang four beautiful Bollywood songs which included Chura Liya (چرا لیا ہے تم نے) and Raat Baaqi (رات باقی، بات باقی). She impressed with her melodious voice.

Now it was the time for which everyone had been waiting…… Host announced the name of Kumar Sanu. A short video documentary was played for displaying Kumar’s musical journey. Sanu gave his entry with his evergreen song Dou Dil Mil Rahay Hayn (دو دل مل رہے ہیں). Then he sang a large number of his super hit numbers. Some of them are:

Saansoun Ki Zaroorat Hay Jaisay

Ek Larki Ko Dekha

Tu Milay Dil Khilay

Sanbhala Hay May Nay

Dil Hay Ke Maanta Naheen

Mera Chand Mujhay Aaya Hay Nazar

Tu Meri Zindagi Hay

Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhayn

After this session he left the stage for Sadhna Sargam, who maintained tempo of the concert with her superb performance. She sang her popular songs. Some of them are:

Saat Sumandar Paar

Pehla Nasha, Pehla Khumaar

Chak De Saaray Gham

Chanda Re

Hanstay Hanstay Kut Jayain Rastay

Mujh Ko Hui Na Khabar

Meray Khwaaboun Mein Jo Aaye

Gajar Nay Kia Hay Ishara (with Rachna Chopra)

Then Kumar Sanu came back and both he and Sadhna sang some beautiful duets, which included:

Tujhay Dekha Tou Yeh

Jab Koi Baat Bigar Jaye

Chura Ke Dil Mera

Baazigar O Baazigar

Larki Barri Anjani Hay

Mayn Tujhay Chorr Ke Kahaan (last song)

It was the best ever concert that I have ever attended. Not only the performance but sound system, stage setup (done by Taj Mahal Events) and lighting all were just perfect. Audience enjoyed every moment of the concert. Sada-e-Shahid congratulate the organisers for arranging such a memorable event.

Evening with Zia Mohyeddin – an unforgettable event!

Urdu International Australia is a Sydney based cultural organisation which tried to promote Urdu literature through its programmes and events. On 7 May 2016 they organised a beautiful evening in Husrstville, a Sydney suburban area, where we got opportunity to meet and listen one of the most dynamic literary person, the living legend, Mr. Zia Mohyeddin who was joined by the visiting Urdu poets Mr. Musaddaq Lakhani, Dr. Baqar Raza and Khushbeer Singh Shaad. In addition there was a breathtaking classical dance performance by Sydney’s local artist Jyoti Duxit, termed as ‘Poetry in Motion’.

Beautiful hall of Civic Theatre was jam packed with the audience and many of them could not get seated. President of Urdu International Mr. Ashraf Shad, a renowned Urdu poet, inaugurated the event with his opening speech in which he welcomed the distinguished guests. He presented a brief introduction of Zia Mohyeddin. Dr. Shabbir Haider was then invited onto the stage for welcoming the legend formally.

Zia Mohyeddin as usual was dressed gracefully. He thanked the organisers and audience for their love and respect. Zia sahib then read a number of poems and proses which were selected from the best Urdu and English literature collections of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Pitras Bukhari, Dr. Younis Butt, Ayub Khawar and Shaukat Thanvi. They included humorous as well as serious and thought provoking subjects. But the best thing was the presentation. Zia has got a God gifted skill and voice quality that is unmatchable. He gave life to the written words. We smiled and laughed with him, and at some sentences we got our eyes filled with tears. 83 year old gentleman made a non-stop performance for almost 90 minutes. After he finished crowed gave his standing ovation.

During the interval Zia sahib came to meet his fans in another hall where the organisers had placed his two books for sale. Zia sahib gave autograph on the first page to every purchaser. It also provided a lifetime opportunity to his fans of getting their photographs with the legend. I didn’t miss the opportunity and purchased his autography titled as “The God of my Idolatry”. I not only expressed my best wishes for him but also told her a little about my blog writing, which he appreciated.

After the interval Jyoti Duuxit was called onto the stage who gave a spectacular dancing performance on Urdu Ghazal ‘Haal-e-Dil Hum Ko’ (حال دل ہم کو یاد آنے لگے). I was getting late so left after her performance and missed the Mushaira (poetic session).

I greet Urdu International Australia for arranging such a marvellous programme and providing us the opportunity to watch and listen to a living legend.

Mobeen Butt (late) and the killer doctors (Urdu blog)

Mobeen Butt (late) with his younger son Haroon