Islooites mesmerised by Ustad Tafoo's performance

ISLAMABAD Tabla maestro Ustad Tafoo Khans fingers created spell of rhythmic tones and mesmerising music compositions to soothe the souls of the Islooites after many years when he last performed in the federal capital. The occasion was a musical evening 'Baithak the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) arranged here at its auditorium on Saturday night, dedicated to renowned music director and tabla player Tafoo Khan. Dr Masooma Nawaz, a well-known singer, also performed on the occasion. Ustad Tafoo presented a variety of compositions on the tabla right from the classical ones to the most popular compositions of the film songs. His fingers were dancing on the tabla seemingly at ease but his facial expressions were telling the efforts and hard work he was putting in to play tabla, the most difficult music instrument as termed by the maestros of the eastern music. In the last part of the musical, Ustad Tafoo also played harmonium and proved to be equally good in this instrument too. He can play nine music instruments with equal skills and competence, told Mahfooz Khokhar, a musician and music critic, while introducing the maestro tabla player. He said that Ustad Tafoo Khan was a born musician with God-gifted talent in composing music in classical, semi-classical and contemporary music. The novice of Mian Qadir Bukhsh has given music to over 700 films during his 41 years of career in the film industry of Pakistan. Tafoo has also captivated the music lovers in other South Asian states including India where he could amazingly shock his contemporaries by using his all ten fingers and his elbow on the tabla to create the unmatchable tones and effects. In the opening session of the musical, Dr Masooma Nawaz sang the hit numbers of the popular singers such as Noor Jehan, Zubaida Khanam, Nustrat Fateh Ali Khan and some others. Her voice has the depth to sing all kinds of music. The musical evening commenced with an introductory remarks by Hassan Abbas Raza, a poet and a director with PNCA. He welcomed the audience to the show and also concluded the evening saying that 'Ustad Taffoos fingers create a language the soul can feel and understand in it true meanings.