Skip to content
Hindi News, हिंदी समाचार, Samachar, Breaking News, Latest Khabar – Pratirodh

Hindi News, हिंदी समाचार, Samachar, Breaking News, Latest Khabar – Pratirodh

Primary Menu Hindi News, हिंदी समाचार, Samachar, Breaking News, Latest Khabar – Pratirodh

Hindi News, हिंदी समाचार, Samachar, Breaking News, Latest Khabar – Pratirodh

  • Home
  • Newswires
  • Politics & Society
  • The New Feudals
  • World View
  • Arts And Aesthetics
  • For The Record
  • About Us
  • Arts And Aesthetics

A Red Evening with LAAL from Pakistan

Apr 24, 2012 | Amit Sengupta

Young Pakistani revolutionary rock band Laal took Delhi by storm even as hundreds of men and women, young and old, rocked and danced to songs of legendary rebels and genius Pakistani poets Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Habib Jalib, who were jailed for their outspoken verse against military dictatorships, and injustices of all kinds. Faiz, himself an ardent communist, came alive across the Delhi landscape, from Hardrock Café in South Delhi on April 19, to the Press Club of India in Lutyens’ Delhi on April 22, and at the jam-packed amphi theatre in Habitat Centre the next day. 

 
The amphi theatre show by the fabulous non-conformist band was called Shaam-e-Laal – A Red Evening, celebrating the great legacy of the struggles by communists across the many spectrums, with songs for workers, peasants, ordinary people, and songs of revolution. Like the song which says, “Do what you have to do, don’t worry about the consequences,” with loud clapping from across the audience, and young girls and boys dancing, moved by the compassion and dialectic of the idea of revolutionary transformation in society. Even the Press Club was packed with journalists and others, with slogans of Laal Salaam resonating in the night.
 
Indeed, Laal carries no baggage of the communist past, its orthodox dogmatism or factional sectarianism; it reinterprets realism of struggle and the continuous narrative of contemporary times with stunningly modern symbolism, using rock and fast music to appeal to a refreshing young sensibility. With flute and drums making a magical synthesis, the sounds of the night were fiery and furious, even as there was much laughter and happiness. “We are always facing tragedies. So why not smile a bit, and laugh, and dream, and dance, and rock,” said Taimur Rahman, lead vocalist of Laal. “Karl Marx said, ‘Revolution is a festival of the masses’. So why shouldn’t we celebrate this festival.”
 
Clearly, the ambience, for instance at the amphi theatre, was that of non conformism with the performer and the audience becoming one in unision, with no hierarchies, and no celebrity gimmicks; this was no antiseptic show from the pulpit. The singer would enter the audience space, and the audience would sing with him, as the open to sky courtyard resonated with Laal’s favourite songs, including that of legendary Sufi icon Baba Farid, who walked from Bukhara to Badaiun in UP, and became a prophet of humanism. The songs celebrated the synthesis of cultures and communities, opposed religious fundamentalism of all varieties and stood in solidarity with the struggles of the poorest of the poor.
 
The evening was rocking from the beginning. A simple banner welcomed Laal while e-mail messages spread across networks of lovers of the band. Witness the e-mail message, and the tone of the evening was set: “The Pakistan India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy invites you to Shaam – e – Laal,  an evening of music, poetry and verses to rethink, revive and reinvigorate the poems, music and voices that steadfastly stand for the rights of the oppressed.” And as Taimur sang a song of love, asking his beloved to never leave him, because the path of struggle they have chosen is the path of revolution; he also said that this song was for peace between India and Pakistan.
 
“Why look for differences all the time? Why not for similarities? I find we share so much culturally and socially, there is so beauty in this sharing. There is more difference between Peshawar and Lahore, indeed, while Delhi and Lahore look and feel so similar.”
 
With slogans of Laal Salaam and Inquilab Zindabad rocking the theatre, the band finally performed the Communist Internationale, their famously fabulous original adaptation, and every person in the audience sang along, celebrating the song of revolution and liberation. Clapping, dancing, singing, celebrating life and beauty and the relentless, epical struggles for equality and justice, this was truly an evening of many colours, especially red. Laal.

Continue Reading

Previous Titanic sinking: The untold stories
Next Zohra Sehgal: A hundred magical years

More Stories

  • Arts And Aesthetics
  • Featured

मैं प्रेम में भरोसा करती हूं. इस पागल दुनिया में इससे अधिक और क्या मायने रखता है?

2 years ago PRATIRODH BUREAU
  • Arts And Aesthetics

युवा मशालों के जल्से में गूंज रहा है यह ऐलान

2 years ago Cheema Sahab
  • Arts And Aesthetics
  • Featured
  • Politics & Society

CAA: Protesters Cheered On By Actors, Artists & Singers

3 years ago Pratirodh Bureau

Recent Posts

  • NCPCR’s Draft Guidelines For The Protection Of Child Artistes
  • 26/11 Attack Handler Jailed For 15 Years In Pak
  • No Material To Support ’02 Godhra Riots Were Pre-Planned: SC
  • SC Abortion Ruling: US Draws Criticism From Closest Allies
  • Omar Introduces Anti-India Resolution In House
  • Women Heads Of State And State Of Feminism
  • Apex Court Dismisses Plea Against SIT Clean Chit To Modi
  • Climate Change: How Myanmar’s Military Rule Makes It More Vulnerable
  • Spiritual, Soft-Spoken & Set To Be Next Prez
  • Food As A Weapon Of War
  • Atleast 1,000 Killed In Afghanistan Earthquake
  • India Needs $223 Bn To Meet 2030 Renewable Capacity Goals: Report
  • ‘Modi Will Have To Withdraw Agnipath Scheme’
  • Eating Local To Tackle The Climate Crisis
  • How Permafrost Thaw Is Damaging Himalayas
  • Trafficked Girls: Grim Options, Grim Choices
  • Floods: Millions Marooned In India, B’desh
  • The Growing Global Statelessness Crisis
  • SKM Says Agnipath Scheme ‘Anti-National’, To Protest On June 24
  • Melting Glacier: Nepal Mulls Shifting Of Everest Base Camp

Search

Main Links

  • Home
  • Newswires
  • Politics & Society
  • The New Feudals
  • World View
  • Arts And Aesthetics
  • For The Record
  • About Us

Related Stroy

  • Featured

NCPCR’s Draft Guidelines For The Protection Of Child Artistes

1 day ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

26/11 Attack Handler Jailed For 15 Years In Pak

1 day ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

No Material To Support ’02 Godhra Riots Were Pre-Planned: SC

2 days ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

SC Abortion Ruling: US Draws Criticism From Closest Allies

2 days ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

Omar Introduces Anti-India Resolution In House

2 days ago Pratirodh Bureau

Recent Posts

  • NCPCR’s Draft Guidelines For The Protection Of Child Artistes
  • 26/11 Attack Handler Jailed For 15 Years In Pak
  • No Material To Support ’02 Godhra Riots Were Pre-Planned: SC
  • SC Abortion Ruling: US Draws Criticism From Closest Allies
  • Omar Introduces Anti-India Resolution In House
Copyright © All rights reserved. | CoverNews by AF themes.