On Wednesday November 6, 2019 the Raag Shaam series for the semester concluded with a session on Thaath Marwa. The series was started by the Gurmani Centre in Fall 2018 in order to introduce the LUMS audience to classical music and its continuing influence on our musical sensibilities. The discussion was led by Ustad Imran Jafri and moderated by professor Aamna Khalid.
The session centered around the discussion and demonstration of Thaath Marwa. Ustad Imran Jafri began by explaining the mood associated with this Thaath. “Marwa carries in it a feeling of hope, restlessness, and an unrecognized sadness that precedes the onset of spring.” he said, “It depicts a state in which spring arrives and yet it does not, flowers blossom and yet they do not.” He went on to say that “Marwa asks you to listen to it and to pay heed. It wants to share its sadness with you, an act which forms the essence of humanity.” He then discussed some of the Raags included in this Thaath: Puriya, Puriya Kalyan, Bhatiyar, Sazgiri and Soni. He also demonstrated these Raags by performing their Astayiis and a number of ghazals. “Lutf wo ishq mein paye hain” was one such ghazal.
Imran Jafri was accompanied by his son Shayan Jafri, an avid student of classical music himself. He sang a rendition of an Astayii in Raag Soni and accompanied Imran Jafri in performing the ghazal “Khush Rahay Sanam Mera” in Raag Puriya. Mesmerized by his control and range, the audience warmly applauded his performances.
The third and final Raag Shaam for the semester thus drew to a close. The series shall resume next semester with the same maestros guiding the mehfils.