One of the Pakistani provinces, Sindh is situated by the Arabian Sea, and its music is so colourful that it seriously daunts me to put it into words. Yet, I feel I should write about it, even if superficially. I don't think many have so far embarked on this adventure.
I have been an "honorary Lahooti" for three years now. Saif Samejo, singer of a local Sufi rock band has united the folk musicians of the Thar desert, presenting the music of the area with beautiful videos. (One part of this music video series was also my own video in which I sang in Sindhi.)
Let me start the introduction with a singer who is every Sindhi's personal favourite. Mai Dhai is one of the oldest and most authentic folk singers of the Tharparkar area. Last year we had to wait for our stage time together at Lahooti melo festival in Hyderabad, and because of the huge delay in the programme, she had to take a nap on the sofa backstage, in the middle of the chaos. She was finally on at about 2am, and by that time her fatigue was gone without a trace.
... and in case you want to see her face:
Next, a stringed and bowed instrument, the kamach deserves to be mentioned. It has a very unique sound, and, as I recently got to know, there is only one musician left in the desert who plays it at a high level. It looks like the art of kamach playing will die with him, unless someone decides to continue the tradition. And I hope someone will... (perhaps the man sitting next to him? Actually, I can make out the word Latif spelled on his instrument - the name of a famous Sufi poet, whose works are constantly sung in the shrine named after him. I will write about him later on.)
Last but not least, let's meet the snake-charmers' instrument, the bheen. It sounds absolutely crazy! Whenever I watch these videos produced by the Lahooti project, I always remark how nicely the city musicians have created the additional music to the authentic sound. This is the reason why not only folk freaks are fond of these recordings, but consumers of more popular music as well.
