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KARACHI: The 13th All Pakistan Music Conference (APMC) opened its doors to music connoisseurs and amateur music lovers at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (IVS) on Friday.

The Ahle Zauq were treated to a dazzling display of classical music performances by celebrated performers such as Ayesha Ali, Mehmood Ali Khan, Akmal Qadri, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, as well as the Najmuddin Saifuddin qawwal party.

Ayesha Ali, whose performance harnessed the beauty of khayal music, was the first performer of the night. Ali started learning classical music much later in life, and has been for 12 years professionally studying and performing this genre of classical music. She explained how her late start helped her music. “My dedication to classical music is much more today than had it been had I started learning classical music from a younger age.”

Ali learnt khayal and dhurpad gayaki from Ustad Hafeez Khan Talwandi.

Her performance was an expression of the love and respect she holds for classical music that she believes is not given enough importance in Pakistan. “Classical music should not be determined by market trends, and instead should be determined by quality,” she said.

Ustad Mehmood Ali Khan was a crowd favourite and delighted the audience especially when he presented a tarana or a thumri. A humble performer, he displayed his prowess with the raag aiman and his performance alongside Ustad Bashir on the tabla, set the bar for the rest of the evening.

Ayla Raza of the APMC spoke to Dawn about the several levels and layers of classical music which need to be appreciated by a larger audience. “Be it the raag, the sur, or the taal, classical music is an intensely cerebral experience that has certain set rules within which the performer has to improvise.”

This, in her opinion, is the greatest strength of classical music as the artist must bring nuance, and variations within a strict structure. This at the spur of the moment improvisation creates a rapport between the performer and the audience.

The evening was also dedicated to sitar maestro Ustad Imdad Hussain Khan from the Delhi Gharana, who passed away on March 28.

Adaab-i-Mehfil was given a lot of importance at the performance. This can partially be attributed to the care organisers took to print the invitation cards, on which the etiquettes of being part of a mehfil were overtly printed. Apart from the customary request to keep phones on silent, an addition was to not applaud during the midst of a performance that was followed by the audience. This is clearly an attempt to bring audiences to a level of maturity, which has been one of the most important reasons behind the setting up of the APMC, Karachi.

The APMC, Karachi was established in 2004 and aimed to contribute towards the traditional performing arts, along with making traditional music and dance more accessible to a larger segment of society. For this very reason, all events organised by the APMC have free entry.

The 13th All Pakistan Music Conference will be held at the IVS on Saturday and Sunday at 8pm.

Originally published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2016