But music in Kashmir is not limited to Sufism only. During 2010 summer protests, which saw a large number of youngsters defy curfews and march on the streets, questioning India’s authority in Kashmir, a young rapper named Roushan Illahi aka MC Kash rapped his anger in his now famous solo titled ‘I Protest’.
Soon after ‘I Protest’ became a cult song and MC Kash a household name, the studio where he recorded was raided by police. Despite enjoying a huge fan following, both on and offline, MC Kash had to remain low for a while fearing reprisal from the authorities.
In 2012, Roushan launched his official website and also released his first complete rap album titled Rebel RepubliK. Kash’s success influenced a large number of youngsters to explore the once unheard genre of music called hip-hop rap. Unlike Kash, most of these youngsters drew their inspiration from Bohemia, an American national of Pakistani descent, who sings in Punjabi. Kids as young as eight with oversized guitars slung over their small shoulders were seen flocking overcrowded studios in Srinagar. “All day long, they would practice to perfect their Punjabi accents,” said Tariq.
Mohammad Muneem, a Kashmiri musician who is currently based in Pune, features in Kash’s first rap album Rebel RepubliK in a track titled ‘Listen, My Brother’. Breaking away from the tradition, Tasleema Langoo, 28, from Shaheed Gunj, Srinagar, has been teaching Sikh boys and girls Kirtan (a religious eulogy attributed to god) since the age of 14.
Tasleema belongs to a family of musicians. Her great grandfather sang for Maharaja Pratap Singh; her grandfather Ghulam Qadir Langoo was a court singer of Maharaja Hari Singh. Tasleema’s father Abdul Majeed Langoo teaches music at Women College.
After learning to recite Shabdh from Guru Granth Sahib, Tasleema started teaching students on her own when she was in 8th standard. Since then Tasleema has taught Kirtan to more than 200 Sikh boys and girls.
In 2007, Tasleema sang Kirtan at Golden Temple, Amritsar. After her performance, Sikh religious leader, Harbans Singh, visited her house to thank her for her contribution in keeping alive their religious traditions.
Mohammad Shafi Mir, 79, from Nawakadal, Srinagar, is perhaps the only Bharatnatyam dancer from Kashmir. Taught by the likes of Moti Lal Kheemu, Shafi performed at a number of events with him. His first major performance was in 1958, when he was invited to perform for a radio stage show held at Sheetal Nath Temple (Habba Kadal). Shafi performed the ancient Hindu devotional dance. Shafi, who briefly taught history of music and dance at IGNOU, has performed at some of the famous stage shows including Vitastha, Himalaya Kay Chirag, Tipoo Sultan, Zainul Abdeen and Haseena Loluk Sharab. He now leads prayers at a local mosque in Srinagar
In his three decade long career, Tariq has mentored several musicians by giving them much needed space in the conflict-torn Kashmir. He vividly remembers his first encounter with Adnan Mattoo. “I remember the day when Adnan Mattoo first walked into my studio. I didn’t like that guy from day one. He was over ambitious. All he was concerned about was publicity. Music was never his priority,” he claims, “all they (Indian media) want is to portray Kashmiris as intolerant,”
“This is no issue at all. It is all media’s own creation,” said a senior police officer who wishes not to be named. “They are small school going girls who were dragged into this mess by news hungry media. If anybody is responsible for intimidating them, it is the media who fanned the issue unnecessarily,” he said.
Tariq says the number of hours Indian news channels consumed discussing a school going girls’ band which hasn’t even sung a single original song or performed anywhere other than at a CRPF funded event shows how Indian media loves to sensationalize issues concerning Kashmiri Muslims.
Last December, Valley Youth Expression, a musical band supported by the CRPF organized competition called Battle of Bands. “Initially we were reluctant to let these girls participate in the competition, as they were amateurs. We thought it was not fair to pitch them against professionals,” said one of the judges who was part of the ‘Battle of Bands’ event. The judge tried to convince Mattoo that it is not a great idea to bring small girls inside a CRFP camp.
But Mattoo was excited. He wanted to introduce Kashmir’s only girl’s band at this event. So he did not listen. “Nobody in Kashmir knew about the band until Indian media sensationalized the issue,” said a local singer.
How can anyone make career in music here, questions a senior singer. There are around 36 bands in Kashmir. All of them have male members. Almost all of them are from Srinagar-based schools like Biscoe, Burnhall, DPS, etc. These boys collect money between themselves and produce an album, which is later shared on social networking sites like Facebook or on music sharing site like Reverbnation.
In most of the cases, once these boys leave their schools or colleges and move to different places for higher studies, these bands get automatically disbanded.
In wake of a weak anti-piracy law in Kashmir, musician and singers often struggle to retrieve their initial investments. “Whatever we produce ends up in the black market within days. And there is no way to stop it,” Ajaz Saleem, who recently launched his Sufi single told Kashmir Life.
“The controversy has divided local music fraternity in a way that has never happened before in Kashmir,” said Tariq. “People have started to blame each other for letting such a thing happen. But nobody is concerned about the fact that women has always been part of the Kashmiri music culture and nobody in the most volatile situations was threatened or harmed,” he said.
Mushtaq Rahi, a budding singer who has participated in various rock shows organized by different universities in Kashmir wonders how a single incident could be used to read the mood and temperament of an entire society.
Adnan Mattoo has gone into hiding and three boys involved in abusing the Pragaash girl have been arrested. The damage, it seems, has already been done!
Some names have been changed to protect the identity of the people quoted in the story.
