Living legends of Pakistan music industry Abida Parveen and Naseebo Lal have opened the 14th season of Coke Studio with an extravagant song “Tu Jhoom.” The song has sent excited fans on a listening spree while they have gone crazy about it.
The opening lines are sung by the folk queen Lal, followed by the Sufi maestro Parveen. “As we start on this new journey, we ask you to celebrate life,” read the official caption of the song.
This year, Coke Studio is produced and curated by music composer Xulfi. Written by Adnan Dhool, “Tu Jhoom’s” music is arranged and produced by Xulfi and budding artist Abdullah Siddiqui.
This time, Xulfi (Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan) has also used artists, who are performing on the melodious song and powerful vocals of the music queens Lal and Parveen.
Twitter is flooded with praise and applause for the two veterans.
The superstar of Pakistan Mahira Khan thanked the legendary singers on Twitter.
Taking to Twitter, actor Shaan Shahid wrote: “Well done Coke Studio… the poetry is like journey.. Naseebo lal a traveler.. and Abida jee the Sufi Guide.”
Coke Studio | Season 14 | Tu Jhoom | Naseebo Lal x Abida Parveen https://t.co/0rrqQbYCMu via @YouTube well done coke studio … the poetry is like a journey .. naseebo Lal a traveler .. and abida jee the Sufi guide ♥️
Similarly, singer Hadiqa Kiani took to Twitter and wrote: “Never knew my soul needed the powerhouse duo of Abida Parveen and Naseebo Lal together. Absolutely breathtaking. Cannot wait to hear more from this season of@cokestudio.”
Never knew my soul needed the powerhouse duo of Abida Parveen and Naseebo Lal together. Absolutely breathtaking. Cannot wait to hear more from this season of @cokestudio
Nani used to say “Phall hamesha neeveen tehni nu lagda aye” The low hanging branch always bears fruit. Seeing video of Abida Parveen meeting Naseebo Laal. The beauty of humility. Surahi sir nagoon hokar bara karti hai paimana
Abida Parveen and Naseebo Lal opening #cokestudio14 giving same feels as Pakistan thrashing India by 10 wickets in the opening match of World T20 – Thank you @zulfiqarjkhan@cokestudio#TuJhoom
Coke Studio hits refresh and takes off with vocal powerhouses Abida Parveen and Naseebo Lal in perfect sonic harmony. The implications of the lyrics of Tu Jhoom are far and wide and this is a perfect start to #CokeStudio14
Renowned Pakistani folk singer Arif Lohar’s wife passed away in Lahore on Sunday.
According to reports, Lohar’s wife had been down with a fever after which she was admitted to a private hospital in the city. Her condition deteriorated on Saturday and she was moved to a ventilator but soon succumbed to her illness. It has not yet been confirmed if the deceased had been diagnosed with COVID.
Renowned Pakistani folk singer Shaukat Ali passed away in Lahore on Friday after battling a prolonged illness.
As per details, Ali’s health had deteriorated a day before his demise. His son Amir Shaukat Ali had said that his father’s condition was critical and his liver was not working at all and had requested everyone to pray for his quick recovery.
Ali had been suffering from liver disease for a long time. He was also facing multiple medical issues, including diabetes and a liver transplant. Moreover, he had undergone a heart bypass surgery a few years ago.
Last year, on the instructions of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, he was admitted to Gambit Institute in Sindh where he had remained under treatment for several days. Later, he was admitted to CMH Lahore on the special instructions of Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister Punjab on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan also extended her condolences to the grieving family.
Dr Awan said that she was saddened to hear about Ali’s demise, saying that Ali had played a key role in putting Pakistan on the map with his songs.
معروف گلوکار شوکت علی کے انتقال کی خبر سن کر بہت دکھ ہوا (اِنَّا لِلّٰہِ وَاِنَّا اِلَیْہِ رَاجِعُوْن)۔ شوکت علی نے اپنے فن خصوصا پرجوش ملی نغموں سے پاکستان کا نام روشن کیا۔ پروردگار مرحوم کو جنت الفردوس میں جگہ دے اور غمزدہ خاندان کو صبر جمیل عطا فرمائے۔ آمین۔
— Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan (@Dr_FirdousAwan) April 2, 2021
Senator Faisal Javed Khan also prayed for him in his tweet.
Saddened to hear of Legendary Shaukat Ali sb’s passing. He played a vital role in instilling affection for the country in hearts of everyone and in motivating & encouraging soldiers’ morale and rallied the nation. May ALLAH rest his soul in peace. Ameenhttps://t.co/fHOqV010ik
— Faisal Javed Khan (@FaisalJavedKhan) April 2, 2021
Yasir Hussain and Shaan also expressed their grief over the demise of the Punjabi singer.
Rest in peace shukat Ali Sb indeed you have served this nation with all your love , talent and hard work . Your contributions will always be remembered by all of us May ALLAH bless your soul ♥️ pic.twitter.com/ufAlnsNZrp
Zeb Bangash is disappointed with Bollywood’s version of Bibi Sanam. Performed originally by Zeb and Haniya on Coke Studio, the international hit landed up in the Hindi film Cabaret, where it was sung by Usha Uthup.
In an opinion piece published on Scroll India, Bangash wrote: “From the moment my cousin Haniya and I released our version of Bibi Sanam on Coke Studio, it resonated with people from Kabul to Kolkata and beyond, becoming one of our most-loved and celebrated numbers. Its success spawned many other versions on YouTube and it was a delight to see and hear people from all over the world engaging with the song with so much love.”
She continued: “In time, many classic versions were uploaded. In 2013, inspired by Ustaad Shamsuddin Masrur’s performance of the song in the 1960s, I recorded an entirely fresh version of Bibi Sanam with my Brooklyn-based band SANDARAA. Not surprisingly, this version became a crowd-pleaser on SANDARAA tours even to predominantly Western audiences in North America.”
Zeb further wrote: “I came across a recently uploaded Bibi Sanam video from a Bollywood film. The film was completed a few years ago, but I hadn’t heard of or seen it. I was eager to see what space had been carved out for this beautiful folk classic by the multi-billion dollar industry we all follow and participate in so actively. The names attached to the project heightened my excitement. Usha Uthup, whose beautiful spirit and voice has inspired me since childhood, and Richa Chadha, an actor I respect as someone who stood up against objectification of women on the silver screen.”
However, the song left the singer disappointed.
“I finally heard the song, I was unsettled, disappointed by its re-imagining. I could not find Richa’s spirit or Usha’s voice in the song, neither could I find the soul of Qandahar, Tajqurghan, Kabul jaan, or Sisstaan — all the places the song has referenced,” wrote Zeb while expressing her thoughts on the rendition.
“Instead, the song was forcibly put in a place it was never meant for. I must admit it deeply disturbed me to see a cover of our loving tribute/rendition juxtaposed against the general ongoings of a forgettable Bollywood item song. What was infused into the innocence, the freshness, and sweetness of Sistaan is unwanted aggressive sexuality. Sadly, it felt perhaps for the first time a version has compromised the beauty of an ancient poetic, musical and spiritual tradition.”
Zeb said that the Bollywood version depicting gyrating women dancing around poles raises a stream of uncomfortable questions for her.
The singer further wrote: “The past 12 months, we saw social movements promoting inclusion and equality, we participated in them virtually and created a real global social impact. Social media provides an opportunity for authentic and discerning collaborations. In the context of this hyper-connected environment, I need to ask whether we as artists and content creators are making lazy and uninformed artistic choices?”
“When you sing a song in a new language, you acquire an intimacy not only with the music, but also its people, as you gain access to its stories and histories. You then suffuse it with your own histories and culture – if done right, it is always a process of inclusion. This is especially true for rich spiritual soundscapes. Is it too much to hope that this can culminate in evolution beyond the item number?” she questioned.
“When a dominant cultural machine imposes its careless vulgarity upon lesser-known spiritual traditions, it can undermine the culture and ultimately re-form and warp an identity from sacred to profane.”
“Bibi Sanam has always possessed a mesmerising quality, magic kept alive for centuries, by artists and audiences, meshed with their personal memory, experience, and history. For me the Bollywood version is a disservice to the song’s meaning and the culture it comes from,” she concluded.
Zebunisa Bangash is a Pakistani singer-songwriter from Lahore. Her family originally hails from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Given her prolific career and her ability to sing in various languages and appeal to audiences of all ages across cultures and continents, it is no wonder that Zeb has a huge international fan following around the world.
