Pak artistes denied nod to perform at last hour, NCPA concert called off

At 7.30 pm, an organiser approached and informed them that due to some 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.

Subsequently, the no-objection certificate (NOC) required for the Pakistani artistes to perform in the city was not provided, after which the organisers decided to cancel the concert.

Malini Hariharan, who has been coordinating the band’s India tour, says, “This is clear discrimination. There were jazz musicians from the UK who were performing with the band, and they were provided an NOC. The police even said, ‘go ahead, organise your show, but you can’t let the Pakistani musicians perform’”.

In an official statement, the NCPA said, “Whenever the venue is given for hire, seeking the required licences is the organisers’ responsibility.”

The ensemble is the product of UK-based businessman Izzat Majeed’s dream to give session musicians from Lollywood, the film industry in Pakistan, another shot at music. Under the dictatorship of Muhammad Zia ul-Haq between 1978 and 1988, Lahore’s film industry was crippled by new conservative laws, as a result of which these maestros were left with little work. Majeed went to Pakistan in 2002 and tracked down a few of these artistes. A few of them were found running chai stalls while one ran an electrical store. As part of Sachal Jazz Ensemble, these musicians play jazz standards with a classical music twist.

kevin.lobo@expressindia.com