Tarannum Naz more than lives up to her name. Indeed, the veteran Pakistani ghazal singer is proud of her melodious voice. And so is her legion of fans. Winner of a host of over 200 awards, including the prestigious ‘Pride of Performance' award in 1995, Naz is a trained singer, who has worked on her tonal quality and delivery over the years, to bring a velvety touch to her saccharine sweet tone. An addictive tone which has only grown sweeter with age. To her credit, Naz has been groomed and mentored by none other than the subcontinent's most esteemed singer, Madam Noor-Jehan. “It was my father's wish that I sing on radio. I was trained during my childhood by Aashiq Hussain before being mentored by Madam Noor-Jehan,” said Naz. “Madam loved me a lot. She had four daughters but she used to say, ‘I have five daughters, including Naz'. She always called me to spend time at her home in Lahore.” As a singer, Naz is gifted with a pure tonal quality and extraordinary control on her voice, enabling her to confidently sing in very high pitch. However, she lamented, “self-confidence is missing in contemporary singers.” “In the past, singers made their place on their own capabilities,” she explained. “Now, everybody wants to be a singer but they are not willing to take lessons and learn how to sing professionally.” “I spent half of my life in auditions,” she informed. “But now we are witnessing ‘ready-made' singers. They become overnight celebrities and because fame comes easy to them they tend to become irresponsible. They don't care to learn classical music. They don't believe in auditions. They don't dare to sing heavy ‘raags'.” Naz said practice makes one perfect and felt the new generation of singers need to devote more time and effort to learn the art. “Practice will allow you to sing for hours, with perfect tone, and no strain at all,” she emphasized. She also disapproved of TV channels that are easily giving opportunities to untrained singers. “They (TV channels) are wrongly promoting performers who are not trained and dumping trained singers, who have devoted their entire lives to singing,” Naz said. She went on to condemn the media for not doing enough to promote ghazals. “The media today is only interested in promoting pop and remix music. We cannot blame music lovers if the media is not giving trained singers a platform to present their talent. Take ghazals, for instance,” she said. “It is one of the most wonderful forms of singing and can never die. But ghazal singers are not being promoted in Pakistan. India, on the other hand, is promoting ghazal far better than Pakistan.” However, Naz does not believe that Indian singers are more admired. “They are not liked more than us, but they get real exposure and plenty of opportunities,” he said. “Singing is part of their culture. Pakistani culture usually does not allow girls to sing.” Having said, Naz strictly disapproves Pakistani artists seeking a career in India. “See what has happened with Adnan Sami Khan and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in India,” she quipped. “We should only go there to represent our country, not to earn our bread.” Seconding Naz, Sai Khawar Hussain, a Pakistani folk singer, said that he is always ready to represent Pakistan anywhere in the world, including India. “But we should only be a true representative of our culture and identity. If we seek our future outside Pakistan as an artist, we will not be welcomed with dignity,” he said. Sai Hussain said that folk is alive in Pakistan and it has a bright future. “Every country has its culture and tradition which cannot be abandoned. Folk music is represents our culture and we are proud of promoting it. More so as folk also has a pleasant element of entertainment. It is the identity of our country and we cannot reject it,” he said firmly. Sai Hussain criticized Pakistani media for not promoting folk music. “If media would promote it as it is promoting pop culture, people would not only enjoy it, but also it can be a great source of connecting people with their country, boosting a sense of patriotism,” he said. Sai Hussain's forefathers were into folk music and he is proud of it. “It is the pride of my family. My entire family has devoted its life for folk music since decades. I also want to continue to master the craft of folk performance and to assist in the discovery of new and exciting means of expression for this noble form of music,” he said. Sai Hussain and Naz are doing their bit to promote ghazal and folk music and are about to work together on an album that will showcase folk, classical and semi-classical music. “People will enjoy the collection of soul music,” they said. “Each song will have its unique strength in that album. Classical ghazals are difficult to render because of the varying moods of the couplets. It is not possible to fully understand ghazal poetry without at least being familiar with some concepts of folk and traditionally invoking melancholy and joy. So this will be our ‘connecting point' in the album.” To give listeners a taste of what Sai Hussain and Naz have in store, the duo performed to a rapturous audience in a concert organized by ‘Melody Nightingale' in Jeddah on June 9. If the response they received at the concert is any indication, then their upcoming album will set the music charts on fire.
