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.

Mehndi Ki Raat – a dancing song for the weddings!

Music is my most favourite hobby. I have been playing keyboards since 1989. 2016 was an important year in my life. I recorded my own composition Jaan-e-Jaan in my voice. My beloved friend, who is a music genius, Mr. Hasan Turk arranged the music for this sweet ballad. I recorded the vocals in Sydney and Hasan mixed and mastered the song in Lahore. I released it on the Valentine’s Day. It got great popularity and demands were high for the video.

In 2017, I managed to shoot the video of Jaan-e-Jaan. Highly talented Mr. Khalid Alvi took his video camera and we both achieved what we could have never imagined. The video was released on 25^th of March and once again got everyone’s attention. It was also my first direction venture. Song was played also on TV channels ATV (Pakistan) and TV Arcana (Australian Internet TV). On pubic demand I sent my song to the Music Database Patari management team. They uploaded the audio on their app. It was a great honour for me as they only upload quality songs by Pakistani based artists.

In September 2017 I decided to work on a fast dancing song which could be played in the wedding function Mehndi where cousins and friends of the groom and bride could dance on it. I had a melody in my mind and I discussed the idea with Hasan. He appreciated the idea but offered me to compose the song for me as he had something better in his mind.

However the challenge was not that easy. Songs like ‘Mehndi Ki Ye Raat’ by Jawad and ‘Mehndi Ki Khushbu Se’ by Haroon were already very much popular in Pakistanis. It took us almost six months in getting a final shape of the song. Hasan sent me the amazing composition in March 2018. One of his nice friends, Mr. Irfan Saleem wrote the lyrics on melody. I also had written my own lyrics for the same song.

I matched both sets of lyrics and decided to experience something new. I picked up lines from both sets and made a nice mix. At some points I put completely new words and expressions. When I got satisfied with the words, I recorded the vocals at my own home based music studio (DJazz). My family friend Ghazala added her voice for the chorus. On 29^th of March Hasan sent me the final mix. We arranged a small gathering of friends at my place on 30^th of March and released the song on social media. At the same time we released the MP3 audio on SoundCloud app. Song has been warmly welcomed by my friends and critics and has got great response.

Video of the launching ceremony

 

On this platform I would like to thank all my beloved fans for their continuous support. I will try my best to always create great music for all music lovers.

Arif Lohar – the Desi Rockstar rocked Sydney

It was Saturday, the 23^rd of May 2015. I was very excited as it was my first ever chance of attending the live concert of Jugni King Arif Lohar who was in Australia for his concerts in all major cities. Raja Taseer of Parwaz Multicultural Arts with the cooperation of Event News Australia and ARF (Ali Rana Folk) managed this beautiful evening for Pakistani and Indian people living in NSW, which will be remembered for a long time. I reached C3 Conference Centre at 7:00 pm where the gig was being held. There were hundreds of Jugni fans there waiting for the show to start.

Concert started at 7:30 pm with solo performance of Sydney based Pakistani Singer Shagufta Zia who beautifully sang Madam Noorjehan’s super hit Punjabi song ‘Way sub tou sohnaya’ (وے سب توں سوہنیا). She got high applause from the jam packed hall. Arif Lohar’s talented musicians played live for Shagufta.

Then came Sherry (Arif’s keyboardist-cum-singer) on the stage and performed a beautiful classical song. He had very good command on his vocal range. He also got good appreciation. He was replaced by Fauzia, the female back-vocalist of Arif Lohar Band. She sang three melodious Punjabi songs. Her performance was highly appreciated by the crowd.

Now the audience had got fully charged and they wanted to listen to Arif, who didn’t disappoint them at all. Arif came on the stage with 3 more musicians of his talented team. He started singing Punjabi songs of folk genre. Very few singers have such a wonderful command and over their musicians that I saw in Arif. His team understand his hand signals and gestures. They changed their way of playing according to Arif’s requirements, i.e. off-beat, extra beat, solo guitar riffs and fully fledged orchestra. Arif’s Dholak player Shahzad stole the show with his extra ordinary performance and stylish look. He played a great role in making the event superb. Guitarists played some beautiful electric guitar pieces. Drummer, flutist, keyboardist and others also played very well.

Arif sang his super hit ‘Jugni – Coke Studio version’ in the end. He was joined by four Sikh folk dancers for this and another song. I was amazed to see the way Arif managed them like a choreographer. Arif’s move-n-shakes were just like the chocolate topping on a very delicious ice-cream. Youngsters and middle aged guys danced wildly and many of them gave tips to Arif and his Dholak player Shahzad. Arif during his performance also went into the crowd and provided them with the opportunity of making their photographs with the Jugni King. At the end he asked Raja Taseer to come on the stage. Raja Taseer thanked all the audience for making the event a big success.

For three great men who are no more with us (in Urdu)

Liberal government not focusing on the key issues in Australia

In 2013 Australian nation went for polls and elected Liberal party for making the new federal government. Tony Abbott became the new Australian Prime Minister in September 2013. Australian job market was going very slow since March this year. Recruiters were telling the candidates that it was quiet because of the forthcoming federal election.

In July 2013 country’s biggest city rail organisation RailCorp that runs trains in Sydney metropolitan area went into transition and became Sydney Trains. A large number of professionals were fired in the name of short sizing. Liberal party is running the state government of New South Wales. Many intelligent engineers opted for redundancy also known as voluntary separation. As a result they were paid huge amounts. However, after a month or so Caucasian (white) professionals were hired once again on high salary contracts. They not only enjoyed the redundancy benefits but also got jobs again at much higher salaries.

Unemployment in Australia increased in 2013

We demand equal employment opportunities for immigrant professionals!!!

Situation is in the private job industry is also very bad for the skilled immigrant. You apply after preparing a very good covering letter completely addressing the selection criteria but if your name is of a Muslim and/or nationality is Pakistani, even the recruiters don’t shortlist you for the interviews. This has brought disappointment for those who migrated to Australia with high hopes.

Hon. Tony Abbott and his cabinet have done nothing to improve the unemployment and the discrimination with the immigrant professionals. I am highly disappointed from their performance. On the other side opposition party Greens are just interested in getting the equal marriage rights for the same-sex couples. They consider it to be a very important issue. Gays and Lesbians make just 1-2% of the Australian population, whereas immigrants make around 35-40% of the population. I am unable to understand that why no one is bothered about their problems who have to earn for their families to live in the highly expensive country Australia. We have come here with high hopes after getting the skilled immigration which has a very difficult process. Being an engineer I had to first get my qualifications and experience recognised by Engineers Australia, for which I prepared the required report (Competency Demonstration Report). The report was assessed by the Engineers Australia and they approved it after making sure that my experience was of the required Australian standards. After that I applied for the immigration.

I therefore demand Australian government to take necessary actions for improving the employment opportunities in the public and private sectors and eradicate the evident discrimination that has brought disappointment and depression for the migrated peoples.

He walks besides me…for Majid, on his 4th death anniversary

MAJID – Prince of Melbourne & Hero of Lahore (RIP)

June 25, 2013: Today marks Majid’s 4th anniversary. We as his family members feel proud to be associated with his sweet memories. He was a guest sent to us from Allah SWT and we thank our Lord for sending such a wonderful person to us, who enlightened our lives till his last breath.

He gave us hope, courage and ideas that have helped us in handling the problems in our life. Today I live in Australia. I am here just because of Majid, who I always regard as Captain James Cook from our extended family. He was the first person in our maternal and parental families who landed in Australia as a student in March 2002. Those days I was just planning to apply for the Canadian or Australian immigration, but was finding it bit difficult to choose between the two options. Majid encouraged me to opt for Australia in spite of the fact that all my close class fellows were applying for Canada.

I listened to him and opted for Australia, which had a very difficult immigration procedure for overseas engineering professionals. Majid was the youngest member of our loving family. He was 8 year younger to me and Rashid and we loved him so much. He suffered a lot due to his irrecoverable disease Bipolar Disorder, which affects highly intellectual people. After fighting against this fatal disease for more than 4 years, finally he gave up and left us on 25th of June, 2009 forever.

Honestly speaking we have never accepted it that he is no more with us. He is still with us in the form of his memories. In fact I feel that he walks beside me every morning when I walk to the train station for catching train to reach my office. My day starts with his memories and when I am in my bed for sleeping, he is the last person who says me goodbye at that time. I never forget to pray for him before sleeping. Similarly he is the first one in my prays after offering any of the everyday Islamic prayers.

Allah SWT is the kindest and most merciful and we are 100% sure that Majid is in the heavens. However we miss him a lot and on any of our achievements, his absence is felt badly which makes us sad. Our houses in Lahore and Sydney are named after him as ‘Al-Majid’. We (Rashid and I) have pledged that anyone who ignored Majid on his death is out of our life and we will always fulfill our commitment with his noble soul.

Majid used to listen this song of Brian Adams in Melbourne, whenever he lost his hopes during the initial tough days of his settling. He played this song once for me when I was little sad in Melbourne on not getting a job. Today I feel that perhaps he is giving us this message from the other world where he is now, and where he is healthy and happy with no depressing thoughts…. Just read!!!

HERE I AM

Here I am – this is me
I come into this world so wild and free
Here I am – so young and strong
Right here in the place where I belong

It’s a new world – it’s a new start
It’s alive with the beating of a young heart
It’s a new day – in a new land
And it’s waiting for me – here I am

Oh it’s a new world – it’s a new start
It’s alive with the beating of a young heart
Yeah it’s a new day – in a new land
And it’s waiting for me – here I am

New Challenges………..‏ (by: Arman Sajid)

The election results have given many challenges to the political parties; greatest challenges are for PML(N) and PTI. PML(N) did every possible thing they could have done to win maximum seats but now they will face a real opposition in the form of PTI, promises they did with its voters to deliver and an overarching; vigilant media. Since the surge of PTI in 2011, unlike PPP, PML(N) leadership had to step down on the ground and deliver something to secure their “promised turn” after 2013 elections. PML(N) will form its government, but it has to perform to sustain in the system, due to ongoing pressure from PTI. Economy, terrorism, energy, drones, Baluchistan, law and order, war on terror, pending cases, NAB, and on the top; Karachi, will be toughest challenges for PML(N).

At the same time PTI, very likely will form government in KPK. Imran Khan had been referring to Nitesh Kumar of Behar (India) and comparing it to the PML(N) regime in Punjab. KPK will be also a challenge for PTI; huge reforms will be required to bring KPK back to normal life and progression. For PTI to maintain its credibility and prove itself, KPK should be a model for rest of the Pakistan. At the same time, at federal level, a strong opposition should be effective enough to encircle the day to day businesses of PML, and demonstrate its value.
PTI as a party will get more time to learn from its mistakes in past, reorganise itself, get out of the pho bia of old and new, and substantiate its claims by a demonstrated performance.

Good Luck to PML(N) and its supporters, celebrate your “success”, but remember, this is Naya Pakistan, and not 1990’s; you will face aggressive, constructive opposition, all your claims and promises are on record and any deviation can’t be put under the carpet.

Thanks to Imran Khan, he did his best; his supporters did what they could do, in some cases unprecedented. The struggle continues……………………….
God bless Pakistan………we all love it, as it comes first………

Message for the Pakistani voters in Urdu

Most unpredictable election in the history of Pakistan

Pakistani nation will cast their votes this Saturday (11-05-2013) for choosing the new lawmakers. This is the 11th general election for Pakistan. This is the first time since 1962 when first general election was held, that democratic transition is taking place successfully between the two elected governments. Last five years can be termed as the worst democratic period in the history of Pakistan.

None of the elections has been so unpredictable and complex in the history of Pakistan as this one is. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has emerged as a big threat for Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PMLN), which has been dreaming of clean sweeping the election without any significant competition. However during the election campaign people in different cities have given great response to Imran Khan. Women and youngsters are the main power of PTI and if the turn out remains high on the Election Day, all claims and predictions in the favour of PMLN could turn wrong.

Imran Khan has made Sharif brothers nervous, who were quite sure of their victory after the poor performance of PPP government in federal. Punjab government’s several initiatives (Metro bus, Danish schools, Laptop scheme, Solar energy panels’ distribution and eradication of dengue disease) are the trump cards for the PMLN leadership and they had full confidence that they would get the maximum votes in the upcoming election. However Imran Khan has come up with a clear programme and vision. He has openly taken stance of coming out of the US slavery and debts. He has clearly warned that the US drones attacking in Pakistan would be fallen down. Imran has also given two year time for getting rid of the worst electricity shortage resulting in 12-16 long load shedding in the cities. He also has a programme of bringing reforms in Police so that the worst law and order situation would be improved.

Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PMLN) on the other hand have come up with the intentions of bringing some new infrastructure projects like Bullet Train (from Karachi to Peshawar) and new motorways. They also have vowed to control the electricity shortage and strengthen the economy. Former Chief Minister of Punjab Mr. Shahbaz Sharif gives examples of successfully eradicating dengue, and launching Merto Bus project in just 11 month record period. People in high volumes are attending the gatherings of both the parties and listening to their leaders. Who wins? Nothing can be predicted at this stage and we have to wait till Saturday, the 11th of May 2013 when things will get clear. However it is clear that now a better time is coming for Pakistan. Insha Allah!!!!!

PTI Australia turning Sydney into Lahore tonight on 23rd March – NAYA PAKISTAN Event!!!

Today is a historic day for Pakistan. In 1940, on the same day resolution for the formation of Pakistan was approved at Minto Park Lahore, where we have Minar-e-Pakistan now for commemorating the history of that day.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf under the visionary leadership of Imran Khan has emerged as a true democratic political force in Pakistan that has full capability to bring Pakistan out of the long ongoing crisis, if given a chance. Today they are going to have a huge demonstration under the Minar-e-Pakistan where 80,000 elected new members will take their oaths.
Pakistanis in Australia love Pakistan not less than anyone else. Mahmood Ahmed Chaddhar and his friends laid the foundation of PTI Australia in 2008. Since then patriotic Pakistanis have been joining the chapter. In 2012 party held its first ever intra-party elections in overseas chapters. Muhammad Waqas Bashir got elected as the President, with Muhammad Ahmed as Vice President and Imran Mirza as General Secretary.

They formed a working team of highly capable people who put their best efforts for the first fund raising lunch that was held in December 2012. Around 400 Sydney siders attended the programme and highly appreciated the efforts done by the whole team…… I feel proud to be a part of that great team.

Now 23rd March is there and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is going to announce its commitment for building a new Pakistan. According to our senior team member Mr. Salik H. Khawaja Australian Pakistanis are lucky that they would start this mission first of all as Australia is 6 hours ahead of Pakistan.

PTI NSW team has organised a beautiful programme today afternoon that will start at 4:00 pm and continue till 9:00 pm. A large number of Pakistanis are coming to attend the event. There will be a special appearance from visiting Pakistani singer Ustad Rafaqat Ali Khan, who will share his feelings with the audience.

We from Sada-e-Shahid invite all our readers living in Sydney and its surrounding to make their presence in today’s event and make it a successful opening of a new era on Pakistan. There will be beautiful presentation and performances and we assure that you will remember this event always as a sweet memory.

NAYA PAKISTAN – INSHA ALLAH!

Location: Orion Function Centre (155 Beamish Street, Campsie NSW 2194)
Time: 1600 hrs (4:00 pm)
Tickets available on location (Adult: $30, child, aged 6-12: $20)