Pakistan artistes refused nod to perform at last hour

Concert cancelled, members of Sachal Jazz Ensemble at Haji Ali Darga on Tuesday. (Kevin DSouza)

Two days after their performance at NH7 Weekender in Delhi, Pakistani artiste Ustad Nafees Ahmed and his six colleagues were waiting in the green room of Tata Theatre at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai with his bandmates from Sachal Jazz Ensemble on Monday evening.
It was past showtime, and the musicians were getting restless, ready to go on stage in their costumes, with their instruments tuned. At 7.30 pm, an organiser approached and informed them that due to an problem with permissions, they had been forced to cancel the concert.

“It has been an unpleasant experience,” says the sitarist, who last performed in Mumbai 15 years ago. “We were hoping that people in India would like our music, that we could make a few friends here before going home. But that has not been possible because the concert was cancelled.”

According to the Mumbai Police, it was the state home department’s discretion to not allow the Pakistani musicians, who are part of the Sachal Jazz Ensemble, to play at the NCPA. “We were asked for our remarks. There was no threat as such posed by the participation of the Pakistani musicians on Monday. However, keeping in mind incidents in the city over the last two years when it concerned Pakistani artistes, we could not completely eliminate the possibility of trouble had they performed,” said Ravindra Shisve, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone I.