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Written by Mona Sarfraz,
KARACHI:
After spending a couple of months raising funds for his double kidney transplant in Pakistan, legendary singer Alamgir finally left for his home in Atlanta, US on Monday.
During his visit he performed live at a number of occasions and one
could see that he hasn’t stopped practising, as his vocal talent has
evolved him into a melodious powerhouse.
In his last press conference before flying to America, Alamgir, one
of the pioneers of pop music, shared his views on the present scenario
pop music in the country and thanked pop singers Atif Aslam and Ali
Zafar for keeping the genre alive in Pakistan.
"I’m thankful to Atif and Ali for keeping pop alive. It’s because of
them that I feel my music still has a place in today’s music scene,”
said Alamgir at the Karachi Arts Council. Elaborating on this statement,
he added that the two singers brought back melody and star appeal in
Pakistan, which was missing for a long time. "It is because of them that
my comeback after 18 years has been a smooth one and even the
generations who are listening to me for the first time accepted my style
of music immediately, which is amazing,” stated Alamgir. Alamgir, however, wasn’t impressed by the quality of music being
produced in Pakistan these days. "Even in our times there was a big
chunk of quality music being made for mature listeners and a small chunk
for kids but sadly, the ratio has been reversed now,” he explained.
"The more you cater to a specific audience the more time bound your
music becomes. Artists should stop focusing on specific groups of
listeners and just make music for everyone,” he told The Express Tribune.
While commenting on the recent influx of Pakistani musicians in the
Indian market, Alamgir remains convinced that the Indian pop genre has
always been inspired by Pakistani pop music. "Indians have always
followed the footsteps of our pop musicians because they have never had a
pop industry of their own and this will continue to happen. Indian
music only revolves around Bollywood, which makes it very formula
based.”
However, the singer stated that he is worried about the present state
of Pakistani music industry and fears it may collapse if seasoned
artists don’t help budding musicians. "I’m worried about what’s going to
happen to the industry. Singers like Shafqat Amanat Ali and Rahat Fateh
Ali Khan are our real assets and I hope contemporary musicians learn
something from them.”
Decades of sheer hard work and passion for music paid off for
Alamgir. The government finally awarded him the Pride of Performance for
his contribution to Pakistani music and Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad
also gave him a donation of $50,000 for his treatment.
{Via Tribune}
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