Description

A documentary film exploring the classical music traditions of urban Pakistan: A journey by an Indian filmmaker


In 2005, Yousuf Saeed, a filmmaker from Delhi, spent more than 6 months in Pakistan as part of a research fellowship where he surveyed the development of classical music traditions in Pakistan after 1947. After traveling in the 3 main cities of Pakistan – Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad - interviewing musicians and scholars, attending music concerts, and observing the teaching of music in various institutions, Yousuf not only managed to document some of the surviving practitioners and patrons of art music, but also raised many vital questions about cultural identity, nationalism, legitimacy of music in Islam, Pakistan’s popular culture and its affairs with India, and the survival of classical music itself in South Asia. The study resulted in a feature-length documentary film, featuring some well-known as well as many lesser known but talented musicians of Pakistan.