Play on, accomplish Mission Kashmir
RAJESH C SHARMA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2005 11:42:45 AM ]
CHANDIGARH: Kashmir's willow might have wilted by the blues of the Indian cricket boys in Sri Lanka but Kashmir's voice has done wonders this Independence Day.
And what a comeback it has been for this underdog! Five times in the danger zone and now he breezes through to safety, singing Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.
It's a great relief that Qazi Touqeer is safe in Fame Gurukul .
Qazi is the most popular contestant. If some people like his looks, others love his locks.
But I was put off the first time I saw him. He seemed to be a shallow singer with little sur sweetness.
It was only when the K-word bobbed up about him -- as if from the Dal waters chopped by terrorism -- that I was forced to take a fresh note of him.
A 19-year-old, who has spent a considerable part of his life under the shadow of the gun, is singing songs of love. Ooh!
This is no Mission Kashmir , no Kashmir Ki Kali , no other Bollywood fare; this is a reality music show on TV.
It's rare that positive news from Jammu and Kashmir hits the headlines; most of the time the state is in news for wrong reasons.
Blood-letting, blood-curdling tales and blood-stained words is what we get from there at regular intervals.
Music, however, can definitely drown the bang of the bullets. Like it had done last year.
There was a fidayeen attack on Jammu railway station on January 2. Four security men, two militants were killed and 18 people were injured. Terror was in the air.
But the very next day Jammu bounced back. Undeterred by militants' threats, thousands of men, women and children poured out onto the streets and took part in a grand Gurpurab procession, singing shabad kirtan and bursting crackers.
Life and death, war and peace...music can make a difference just like everybody, who matters, is trying to make one.
J&K chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is attempting to bring back militants to the mainstream through his "healing touch" policy, and the governments of India and Pakistan are promoting confidence-building measures (CBMs) targeted at the masses. But Qazi has come as a CBM for the youth, the misguided youth, who are a lifeline for the militants.
Doesn't his message read: Rise, friends. Take up the reins of your lives. Don't let peace go for a song? O, if music be the food of love and peace, play on, Qazi. And have a blast!
