Neha Saini
Ten minutes into the live performance of Alif, that brings the sounds from the valley that resonate with the rest of us, a few paper boats made it through the audience. These boats had few lines of poetry, one for every receiver. Mine read,
To you, who is reading this….
You hold the power of jhelumas (Jhelum)….
A river of resilience, calmness, continuity, birth, death rebirth, belief, strength, peace, love and
countless dreams…
This letter ended with a silent encouragement and courage to find our Jehlum and flow with it, the paper boat being a reminder to make that journey.
Led by Mohammad Muneem, the lead vocalist, who uses the stage name Alif, its journey has been slow but consistent. It performed as one of the finale acts at the closing day of the Sacred Amritsar Festival in Amritsar. The band performs in Koshur, Hindi and English and Alif’s poetry in Kashmiri and Urdu, forms the basis of most of their songs.
Alif came into existence in 2008 has now performed at major music festivals. Their singles have found audience across the country. Metaphorically Alif, the first letter in Urdu alphabet, means ‘the oneness of everything’. That’s how Alif describes his music.
“The idea was to write original music and content,” shared Alif, he explained his music. “I grew up listening to ghazals, to Queen and a range of music. However, I cannot say that we have a particular sound. It’s like where compositions end, words take you forward and where words end, visuals continue the journey,” said Alif, who teaches poetry writing.
Most of their songs represent contemporary issues, about youth and life. At Sacred Amritsar, they performed some of the popular songs, including the moving tribute to the resilience of women, Jhelamas; Like A Sufi, a song that celebrates death, a song where a person on the verge of death is asking his grandmother to cook him haag (Kashmiri saag) for his last meal; or a version of their heart- touching Katyu Chuko that also featured in Imtiaz Ali’s Laila Majnu. “My subjects are a reflection my experiences, people I meet and everything that I see happening around me,” said Alif.
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