An Azerbaijani artist surprised Pakistanis by performing the tune of ‘Mast Qalandar’ at the World Cultural Fair in collaboration with Arts Council Karachi, Geo, and Jang.
Sahib Pashazadeh, a well-known musician from Azerbaijan, has highly appreciated Pakistani culture and hospitality. He came to Karachi to participate in the ongoing 35-day World Cultural Fair organized by Geo and Jang.
In a special interview with Geo Digital, Sahib Pashazade described the beauty of Pakistan and the hospitality of the people, saying, “Pakistan is very beautiful, very beautiful! The people here greet guests with a smile. Seeing us, people kept coming out and asking if we needed anything. Can we help you? Because we are also Muslims, people here say in their own way: God bless you, Masha Allah, and thank you very much.”
He performed Azerbaijan’s traditional music ‘Mugham’ and the famous Pakistani qawwali ‘Mast Qalandar’ for the Pakistani audience during his performance at the music concert event at Karachi Arts Council.
Talking about the music, he said, “We presented Azerbaijan’s national music, ‘Mugham,’ for the Pakistani audience. Mugham is a long style of music, but we shortened it and also performed the traditional dance ‘Yalalli,’ which was well liked by the audience.”
He added, “After that, we presented the song ‘Mast Qalandar’ as a special surprise for the Pakistani audience. This is a very famous Pakistani qawwali sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan; we know he is a very popular artist.”
Sahib Pashazade mentioned that he also performed a joint fusion of traditional music from Pakistan and Azerbaijan, which was well received by the audience.
He said, “Both Pakistan and Azerbaijan are Muslim countries, and both love and respect each other’s culture and people. I felt very happy to be a part of this great cultural festival.”
Talking about Karachi, Sahib Pashazade said that he had visited Islamabad before, but it was his first time in Karachi.
He said, “Both the culture and the people here are very interesting, they are hospitable and big hearted people who impressed us a lot.”
He praised the Pakistani people and culture and hoped for more opportunities in the future to experience the fusion of music and culture between the two countries.
World Cultural Fair will continue for about a month at the Karachi Arts Council, featuring more than 400 international artists from 40 countries.
