ISLAMABAD - National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) Thursday organized a Muzakra - a literary session - titled, ‘Endangered and Extinct Musical Instruments of Pakistan’. Director General at the Office of the Auditor General of Pakistan Sheraz Haider was the guest of honor on the occasion.
The speakers, in their copies on topic, illuminated the details of the extinct and the endangered instruments through discussion and visuals.
At the same time, they also deliberated upon the threats, challenges, opportunities and possible revival of such instruments through an open and interactive session. “It was a matter of grave concern that this music and these musicians are dying out. We need to preserve this music and part of the problem is that this is an expensive instrument that most people can’t afford. There are no institutions teaching instrument, and we need to teach this free of cost to save it,” the speakers added.
One of the oldest bowed instruments of the region, the body of the Sarangi is hollow and made of teak wood adorned with ivory inlays. Some of the extinct instruments include: Vichatar Veena, Sur Bahar, Israaj, Pakhawaj, Chung, Jaltarang, and Dilruba. Likewise, some of the dying musical instruments include: Sarangi, Israj, Tanpura, Sarinda, Alghoza, Sitar, Tabla, Narr Bait, and Santoor, Borondo. Shehraz Haider is also a cultural historian, an ethno-musicologist, a dance critic and a playwright also highlighted the history and importance of instruments in his copy. He remained an anchorperson for Pakistan Television Corporation and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (1988-2008).
He has served Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation as Program Producer, (1988-94). On classical, folk, film music, and dance, he has been contributing articles to newspapers and magazines since 1990.
Haider also produced a series of documentaries on lost genre of light classical music of North India. One of his video documentaries was screened at an international competition hosted by the Japanese television in 1999. From 2002 to 2005, Haider hosted Pakistan Television’s longest running music daily live programme ‘Meri Mouseeqi’, which featured live discussions on various thematic areas of film and non-film music.