NAPA's students enthral audience

Islamabad - The students and graduates of the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) surprised the audience with their skilful musical performance here at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) on Monday night. The show entitled 'NAPA Musical Ensemble was arranged in connection with the ongoing cultural week. The show was opened with Khalood Shafis sitar performance with the rhythmic harmony of tabla, played by Waqas alias Wiky. A vocalist, Asia Alam sang 'laagay na mun toray bina, a geet by Sabir Zafar in classical form. Niaz Ahmed, a renowned film and TV music composer, played a great role in composing the music of the geet. Umair Shahzad, a graduate from NAPA, came all the way from Dubai to participate in the show. His participation, as mentioned by the anchor of the programme, also led to the PNCA facing inconvenience. However, the anchor did not disclose the reason for said inconvenience. Fortunately, Umair Shahzads performance was a welcome addition to the show. Ahsan Shabbir sung 'ashk rukhsaar par nahien aatay while Irums performance of Farida Khanams 'ye kiya keh ik jahan ko proved to be a moving routine for the audience. There were two fusion performances including a group performance by three singers Zulfiqar Ali Shah, Shudh Bilawal and Nadir Abbas. The group experimented a combination of Urdu classical, Chitrali as well as English language on traditional instruments. Saima Zakir and guitar player, Danish performed an English instrumental 'Europa by renowned musician Carlos Santana but did so on the beat of the tabla. The raag malkons on the tabla beat of teen taal by Haris Ali Khan as well as Waqas Gulabs solo performance on the tabla were among the most appreciated performances. The over all performance of the students and graduates of the NAPA showed that they have the liberty to choose what ever they to want to learn and excel in the field of performing arts. Arshad Mahmood, the renowned actor and music composer who is also associated with NAPA, conducted the show in his very pleasant and candid style. While briefing the audience about the concept behind the NAPA, he said that about five years back it was thought that the young generation should be trained in performing arts including drama, music and dance. So far, only classes concerning drama and music have been conducted whereas; the dance programme is yet to be carried out. Mr. Mahmood mentioned that the two batches that have graduated the NAPA are now part of the professional field of performing arts and are doing better as opposed to other new comers in the field. After long efforts, the NAPA has developed an appropriate three-year curriculum for the drama and the music students. Mr. Mahmood also remarked that during their stay at NAPA the students had benefited from the best faculty available in the country.