Music as Pakistan's Mirror of Resistance

Popular music is an incessantly difficult to describe phenomenon but is more widely associated as “types of music characteristics of ‘modern’ and ‘modernizing societies, and ultimately ties closely to the perceptions people hold of themselves and is thus “intimately connected” to people’s “sense of social identity” (Middleton & Manuel, 2015). Therefore, popular music boldly illustrates people’s sense of place and creates deeper meanings and resonance across its audiences. Two genres of popular music that are interesting to explore are indie folk and commercial music, more specifically the music produced by Ali Sethi whilst laying emphasis on two particular songs: Chan Kithan & Chandni Raat. Older Pakistani music that is now being woven into modern fabrics, thrive as messages of empowerment and resistance. Ali Sethi’s music is an important compass in navigating such musical evolutions as he tends to revive older music through contemporary voices; a kind of music that has created concrete semblances of a deep-rooted identity to an imagined reality, as well as forming political stances that is highlighted by artists such as Junoon and Shehzad Roy.

The song Chan Kithan was first sung by Surinder Kaur, an Indian artist who sang “Punjabi folk songs” and is considered to be the force behind the genre’s popularity today (Surinder Kaur). Today this song has been sung by various artists across the sub-continent and remains to be a well-known melody amongst a majority. Ali Sethi’s version of the song adopts a different angle, in that it is more harmonious. This however has a great deal to do with the technological advances that have been introduced and have paved their way to South Asian arts. The video of the song embarks on a variety of different themes and ideas. As described by the artist himself, the song is “about fantasy. It’s about people who cannot communicate through language, people who are divided by class, divided by physical distance.” He further asserts that “the video is about separation. Mr. Sethi talks about how the song “engages people intimately” encapsulating a form of union regardless of the fact that “they haven’t traveled through the zones I have traveled in” yet “the intensity through which they connect” is indicative of larger, more complex relationships that individuals across factions thrive within, and ultimately how “we are connected through silence in this incredible technological proximity” (Sethi, 00:00:00-00:03:30). The song draws on a perspective of displacement that ripples through the Pakistani society. The ideas of power therefore come to play and disfigures relationships of financial stances. It encapsulates the lived experiences of a third world country: Pakistan. This particular song is an echo of the deeper meanings behind popular music.

The video of Chan Kithan is an amalgamation of different genres and literary phonemes that merge together to create a dystopian present. It explores two individual lifestyles, poles apart yet converging at the end; all coming together in 5 minutes and 32 seconds. The piece itself remains to have a ring of the past to it: muffled voices of the singer and the presence of instruments such as the Harmonium and the Been that hold importance across the subcontinent.

The identity that forms around the music is indicative of broader theoretical concepts such as representation and social strife that paves its way to the poetic arts. It mirrors the virtues of many, and is a defining point of the genre’s popularity across the board. This idea is aptly described by T.S Elliot who maintains that singers such as Marie Lloyd become “the expressive figure of the lower classes” (Frith, 2004). The disdain that persists almost equivocally throughout the Pakistani society is of a collective nature, one that has existed overtime. This perspective transcends musical capacities to more political stances and, more often than not, adapts despondent views that can be understood in light of the struggles of everyday life in the Pakistani society with music portraying those difficulties. This idea is best described by another one of Mr. Sethi’s songs: Chandni Raat. The song’s lyrics are of a longing and unrequited nature.

چاندنی رات بڑی دیر کے بعد آئی ہے

This moonlit night has come after a long time

نہ خولے آنکھ۔ آگر خواب ہے ، تو خواب صحیح

The eyes don’t open but if it’s a dream, then the dream is fine

(Chaan Kithan Translation, 2017).

While not all indie folk songs are of such emotive nature, many do possess a paralleled tone of dismay, and of yearning of a dissimilar reality. Often the troubles that the lyrics of these songs speak of are in accordance with societal pressures, obligations and expectations that surface as a product of existing in a collective society. On closer inspection, many songs, including that of Shahzad Roy’s Laga Reh, breathe into a more directly opposing facet to political activity falling under a satirical rhythm.

North et al (2000), suggest that Pakistani’s often listen to music “as a distraction from worries.” Whilst there is a non-ceasing list that produces these “worries,” research by the World Health Organization (2014), maintains that regions “with low political freedoms” generate “vulnerability among the population” and thus cause these “worries.” Thus, the audiences and creators of Pakistani music encourage communality in lieu of political discontent, and create a sub culture of resistance through a demonstration of plight. Moreover, bands such as Strings and Junoon add to this stream of protesting through music. In this regard, a large variety of music failed to make its way to commercial avenues as their content was considered controversial and were thus rejected. A popular satirical comedian of Pakistan concludes “when you are in a repressive environment you naturally find other ways to communicate-and music became that outlet.” He further acknowledges that in Pakistan “the association between music and free speech remains” (In Pakistan, Protest Music Is A Tradition, 2011). This music of resistance ultimately empowers its listeners, these listeners forming a large majority of a collective society such as the Pakistani one.

In essence, music in Pakistan draws an image of greater problems, and instead of belonging to a culture of exclusion, acts as an emblem of unity through similar lived experiences. It possesses a great deal of loss and despondency that speaks as remnants of a third world country and a byproduct of a very politicized community of people. It further speaks on a deeper note of artistic impression by collectively experiencing discontent, and often goes against the mainstream current. On that path, certain genres of Pakistani music, specifically those discussed above counteract many social implications, one that ultimately conjures audiences from a plethora of backgrounds in a highly polarized and pauperized society.

References

Sethi, Ali. “Chan Kithan.” StudioS, 25 June 2017,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx1V0f9YLrE

Arora, Kim. “In Pakistan, Protest Music Is A Tradition.” Times of India. 2011. www.timesofindia.com/india/In-Pakistan-protest-music-is-a-tradition/articleshow/10562389.cms

Middleton, Richard & Manuel, Peter. Popular Music. 2015, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000043179

Rowhit “Ali Sethi Explains The Video of Chann Kithan-Live in Dubai 10 March 2018.” Youtube.

North, A. A., Hargreaves, D. J., & O’ Niel, S. (2000). The importance of music to adolescents. British Journal od Educational Psychology, 70, 255-272

Social Determinants of Mental Health. World Health Organization. 2014