Musicians in Pakistan in the past always looked towards the government for recognition of their talent and pecuniary benefits. A majority of them succeeded in attracting the attention of cultural bureaucracy in the country, which helped it in winning both recognition as well as financial benefits at the highest level.
However, there remained a few who could not muster enough support or lacked in lobbying techniques for self promotion and self projection and were deprived of the honours.
A majority of performing artistes was left at the mercy of connoisseurs, promoters of musical activities, art councils and officials in the Ministries of Culture at provincial and federal levels for the promotion of their interests.
During my continuous interaction with the members of music fraternity during the past 58 years I have noticed even senior artistes running from pillar to post in their efforts to win official recognition of their creative talent and melodic prowess.
The Pride of Performance medal, which is awarded to creative artists and musicians in recognition of their talent and contributions to the flowering of melodic arts, was instituted during the regime of President Muhammad Ayub Khan. Reportedly, he was keenly interested in music and its promotion, which he demonstrated by attending the first session of the All Pakistan Music Conference held in Lahore in 1959. Since then, it has become an annual affair and almost every senior musician in the country has been bestowed with this honour.
It is perhaps for the first time that the sons of late maestro Ustad Salamat Ali Khan took upon themselves the responsibility of honouring senior musicians in recognition of their ebullient talent and contributions to the promotion of music in Pakistan.
A few years ago when their father was alive, the four sons of the legendary classical vocalists took the first step to promote music sans the patronage of self-serving connoisseurs, who used senior musicians not so much for the promotion of the cause of classical music, but for self projection.
Later, Shafqat Ali Khan, the youngest son of late Ustad Salamat Ali Khan founded the Sham Chaurasi Music Circle (SMC) with the avowed objective of preserving and furthering the melodic traditions evolved by their gharana. Several programmes under the banner of SMC have already been presented under the supervision of highly energetic young Chairman of SMC Shafqat Ali Khan without the help of any art promoting private sector organisation except the facilitative assistance provided to him by the Lahore Arts Council.
On December 10, 2005, the Sham Chaurasi Music Circle, under the chairmanship of Shafqat Ali Khan sponsored the 4th Ustad Nazakat Ali Khan-Ustad Salamat Ali Khan Award ceremony and Music Festival at the Lahore Arts Council, which was attended by a large number of music buffs and votaries of classical music. As is common with professional gharana musicians, the members of music fraternity of Lahore extended their moral support and co-operation to the sponsors of the event by actively participating in its proceedings.
Hosted by witty Khawaja Afzal, the programme included renditions of classical raags by the sons of late Ustad Salamat Ali Khan. His sons Sakhawat Ali Khan and Shafqat Ali Khan made convincing demonstrations of their melodic prowess and were joined by Shujaat Ali Khan, a grandson of the late maestro.
Other participants in the music festival were Shahzad Akhter and Insha Dar, whose renditions of ghazals were enjoyed by the audience. An added feature of the program was the violin concert by Anupria, an Indian musician, who came to Lahore especially to participate in the music festival. Tanveer Tafu, a budding rubab player and a son of tabla maestro/film composer Ustad Altaf Husain Tafu, impressed the attendees by his presentation.
Ustad Hussain Bakhsh Gulloo, a veteran classical singer was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award by the sponsors of the music festival, who had dedicated the music programme to the memory of late Razia Khan, wife of the late Ustad Salamat Ali Khan. The efforts of the sons of late Ustad Salamat Ali Khan geared towards the promotion of classical music in Pakistan is appreciatable which in recent years, has been pushed under the shadow by the onslaught of Western cultural invasion.
Needless to emphasise, Ustad Shafqat Ali Khan has matured into a seasoned practitioner of the art of classical vocalisation winning critical acclaim from connoisseurs, professional musicians and writers on music. His frequent travels to India and several countries of the Middle East and Europe have helped in retaining the name of Pakistan on the musical map of the world.