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Music of resistance: Bhatti’s debut song urges Indo-Pak entente

By Sajjad Malik

ISLAMABAD

: Arshed Bhatti, a bureaucrat-turned-peace-activist, launched his debut song on Wednesday to join the stormy world of challenging the powerful ruling elites of the country through music and songs.

The song ‘gal karo’ is highly political and urges traditional rivals - Pakistan and India - to come to negotiating table to solve all outstanding issues. It is a song that also invites all warring factions in South Asia to converse and find win-win solutions through mutual efforts.

The date of release is meaningful as it falls just a day ahead of meeting of prime ministers of Indian and Pakistani (16 July) at Sharam el Sheikh in Egypt. Bhatti has arranged with a local private TV channel to play the song on the eve of the meeting.

The song is part of an album ‘In the Lane of Fire’ that has been translated in Urdu as Jhansa. It is an album with a theme and its music with a purpose. Its street style and folk wisdom infused political commentary on Pakistan’s ’60 years of existence.

The premise of the composer and singer is that the myopic and mindless policies have dragged common Pakistanis in the lane of fire. Various songs approach the theme from different angles. 

All lyrics are original and written by Bhatti in Urdu and Punjabi. The contents are simplified without being simplistic. The message of the album is creation of plural, democratic and just society free of intolerance. 

Bhatti, who owns a foot outlet, which is known for its ‘Food for Thought (F4T)’ political menu, told Daily Times, “I see this album as catalyst for objective appreciation, politically informed analysis and humane thinking.”

He said solutions to both chaos and conflict would have to be home-grown and emerge from amiable, amicable mutual soul searching.

He said his album comprised 12 songs, including Azadi (Emancipation), Sat rungi (the rainbow), Conver-solution, Kurb (affliction), Tu Huq Sain (You are the Truth), Ghar se nikal, dar se nikal (Come out of home, come out of fear), Muchh nain te kuchh nain (Nothing without moustaches), Yari (Friendship), Boll, boll, boll, pyar k do bole (Say two words of affection), Sub pese ki game hae (Money makes the mare go), 2+2-2=2 (2 number – denoting, a lot of effort but no result) and Imkaan bohat (Immense possibilities). 

Bhatti said some of his songs had already been recorded and others are being done. He said his friend Arieb Azhar had given music to the lyrics, and rendered his voice also for several numbers. 

He feels passionate about his mission to transform the society through songs. “My lyrics are small window and perhaps the album will be like a door to a sort of courtyard of hope and aspirations,” he said.
Daily Times:Thursday, July 16, 2009

 ‘Gul Karo’: A thought-provoking song

Schezee Zaidi

Islamabad

Addressing the Indian and Pakistani political leaderships ahead of a meeting between prime ministers of the two countries today (Thursday) at Sharm El Sheikh, the Civil Junction launched a new resistance song titled ‘Gul Karo’ here on Wednesday. 

Conceived and written by Arshad Bhatti, founder of the socio-political initiative, Civil Junction, and composed by Arieb Azhar, the song represents a voice articulating Indo-Pak peace and cooperation agenda from dispossessed citizens’ point of view. It calls for the urgency of a dialogue to work towards peace. It conveys the concerns of all peace-loving people with eloquent urgency and poignancy, asserting the value of music as a mode of social critique. 

Introduced as ‘music of resistance’, the song reflects the need to communicate socio-political messages through music to make an effort towards radical political change, stressing on the need for working towards solutions in order to bring about desired change in the socio-political arena. 

If movements for the creation of music very often led to a connection with popular music, the song ‘Gul Karo’ represents the refined popular expression, indicating a link between concerns of citizens and the government, offering a dynamic interaction leading to peace between the two neighbouring countries. 

Voicing political and cultural criticism while simultaneously celebrating communities, histories, families and heritages, the song also touches permeability between different cultural layers that relates to a social life in which citizens and communities co-exist in peace. The inter-penetration between their worlds, both sacred and profane, of order and disorder, the song also creates a unique process of shifting the sand of a fellowship and a culture of peace between people. 

Recorded in the voice of Arshad Bhatti, Arieb Azhar and Arifa, the song comes as the first crooning attempt by the said social group, reflecting an activist rawness to keep the freshness of protest in their resistance music. This is the first song released by the activist group Civil Junction from their forthcoming album ‘In the Lane of Fire-Jhansa’, which contains political commentary on Pakistan’s 60 years, particularly on two collective traits viz masculinity and bravery, the myopic and mindless application of which has produced the monsters of intolerance and militancy, and the resulting chaos has dragged the common citizens of Pakistan in the line of fire! The album is part of the creative resistance that Civil Junction has initiated under the banner of ‘Alternate Beats: Voices of Resistance & Passion’.

As propaganda comes not only in flyers and demonstrations, it is also in the infusion of radical and pro-working class politics into youth subcultures, and the song ‘Gul Karo’ has the potential to fill the streets with the sounds and colours of resistance for peace.