A youth affair
Introduction, Aly Sunderji:
This past Easter long weekend, the Vancouver jamat was treated to a unique and first of its kind Mehfil-e-Ginan. What made this mehfil so unique was that this was the first time since Silver Jubilee that Vancouver had its own “Youth based Ginan Mehfil.”
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The Vancouver jamat is fortunate to have amazing singers such as Khursheed Nurali (Sheerazi), Anaar Kanji, Nimet Jaffer, Venky, Shamshu Jamal etc. In the past, all these singers plus many more have participated and performed in such mehfils under the direction of Shamshu Jamal, however, this time around Shamshu Jamal brought forward the idea of passing the torch on to the younger generation and involving singers under the age of 30. Talented and young singers within the jamat were then chosen to participate in the mehfil. The selected youth participants were: Soraiya Lalani, Shafiqullah Ahmadi, Sultana Mohamedali, Tazneem Tarmohamed, Aly Sunderji, Ruheen Adatia, and Dr. Nawaaz Nathoo.
Each of these artists brought their own unique flavour and flare to the mehfil. Soraiya, currently in grade 11 has had training in western classical music and she has her own CD entitled Soraiya Lalani-EP. Shafiqullah Ahmadi is the newest addition to the Vancouver music scene. Born in Banyan Afghanistan, Shafiqullah currently is learning Indian Classical music from Shri Akhil Jobanputra and Smt. Asha Lohia. Sultana with her mellifluous voice floored us all when she read her Qasida from the Farsi book “Kitaab al-Manaqib.” Not only does she sing this qasida with so much emotion and lilting beauty, she also has perfect diction and annotations, as she is able to read from the original book.
Tazneem is best known for her Swahili pop album “Kwasa Kwasa.” She is a very talented singer originally from the UK and has made charts with her renowned Swahili pop songs. Aly brought a classical flare to the mehfil. He is the disciple of Pt. Rattan Mohan Sharma and studies Hindustani Shastriya Sangeet. Drawing from his childhood musical inspiration Khursheed Nurali, Aly sang his favourite Bhajan in raag bhairavi “Aly Charaño Maa(n) Chhe Apaar Sukh.” He has been groomed in the art of bhajan by his BadeGuruji, Pandit Jasraj, as well as Anup Jalota.
Ruheen is originally from Congo (DRC) and is currently studying at the University of British Columbia. She brought the audience to tears with her emotional and spiritually charged rendition of the ginan “Kahore Pandito jiv – Har bolo Har bolo munivar jaañ”. Nawaaz, a doctor by profession, is a seasoned Sitar player usually accustomed to wowing people with his skills on the Sitar. This time around he made the audience sway and sing along as he sung a melodious Ginan Garbi of Pir Shams.
Joining these youth artists were some of Vancouver’s more senior artists: Nimet Jaffer (Poonja), Mac Virjee, Zera Velji, and of course the one and only music director of the event Shamshu Jamal. All the artists had the privilege of not only receiving training from Shamshu Jamal, but also getting to perform with one of Western Canada’s most accomplished tabla players, Shri Sunny Matharu. This mehfil truly fulfilled Mawlana Hazar Imam’s guidance of preserving this “Wonderful Tradition” and passing it down from generation to generation. When we see a member of the Central Asian jamat singing a ginan and a member of the Khoja jamat singing a Qasida, I am certain that we have made the Imam happy.
Not only were the performers in this mehfil youth but Sultana, one of the singers, and her team of young volunteers set up the stage and did the décor for the evening. In addition to this, the photography by Alizain, videography by Faheem, sound, and audio recording were also done by youth. The audience commented that the hall and a beautiful “mahol” (ambiance), that the décor was pleasing to the eye and that the sound was full and voluptuous. This was all thanks to the Jawani entertainment team of Aabid, Anoushka and Faheem.
The mehfil ended with a serene and tranquil presentation of Zikar Tasbih, but when that was over, the audience did not get up and they demanded an encore. Shamshu Jamal graciously treated the audience to his evergreen iconic geet “Maara Mawla Canada Padhaarshe” (My Mawla will visit Canada). The audience reacted the exact same way they did when he sung it for the first time in 1978 – swaying, hollering, clapping, singing along, and finally a standing ovation.
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OurWonderfulTradition.com is a new site where carefully selected ginans with music are available for free download or streaming. The site’s launch will be marked with the release of ‘Footprints’ – a collection of ginans by Irfaan Manji.
Enlightened Encounters Show Comes to Vancouver this August
Farhad Mortezaee is a registered architect in Alberta and British Columbia. Farhad holds a Master’s Degree in architecture and a Graduate Diploma in Advanced Architectural Studies. With more than thirteen years of experience in Architectural design and project management, Farhad is committed to delivering client focused design services for commercial and residential building projects. Farhad has completed the Canadian Specialist in Accessible Housing Design Certificate Program at Mount Royal University. In his spare time, Farhad volunteers with his son’s school and his community association.
Friday, September 18, 7:00-7:10 p.m.
