Kashmir is always a place of conflict and a place of real beauty – if you know where to look for it. There are musicians that talk about tales of suffering, designers, florists… Today, there is a different person here with a unique outlook towards her conflict driven state: Aabha Hanjura. A vibrant, talented musician with a mission: to put Kashmiri music on the global map. Her foot-tapping tunes are already an online sensation, and on Saturday, her performance in Srinagar produced a rare bonding of Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits – something our bapus couldn’t do despite their many attempts.
Aabha, a migrant Kashmiri Pandit herself, had an audience of 2,000 attending her concert titled ‘Saaz-e-Kashmir’ on the lawns of the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre here. The event by her band, Sufistication, stood out in the Valley, where even cinemas have been shut for nearly three decades now
Aabha’s music mixes folk Kashmiri songs with Western styles. At her concert, she said, “Mountains in the backdrop and the heavenly Dal lake in front. I couldn’t have asked for a more serene stage for my first gig in my homeland. It’s a historic one for the band in the valley of Kashmir.” Aabha hails from Budgam district.
Many Pandit families, who live in and around Srinagar were there, singing in chorus with their Muslim counterparts. A majority of Kashmiri Pandits left the Valley as militancy erupted in the 1990s. Since then, the two communities have struggled to reconcile with each other.
“The show reflected the real Kashmir. I saw students on their feet. The singer was rooted in her culture despite the separation. She could sing from popular folk to modern wedding songs with ease and connect with people,” said State Public Works Minister Nayeem Akhtar.
Sufistication started shows in 2012, and became an instant hit in the Valley online. Its latest folk song track, Hukus Bukus, is Kashmir’s most popular ballad.
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