Karachi, December 17 (Dawn): In an unusual case of music crossing disturbed borders, a video of a song sung by a Karachi three-wheeler driver put on Facebook last year drew the attention of Indians across the border and brought encomiums from none other than India’s nightingale, Lata Mangeshkar.
Three wheeler driver Master Aslam’s rendering of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan’s Thumri ‘Yaad piya ki aaey’ was sung with such purity of soul (and without hitting a false note) that it compelled those who viewed it to inquire about the singer and put it on Facebook.
A few hours after the clip was uploaded, none other than the iconic Indian playback singer and music connoisseur, Lata Mangeshkar, shared it on her Facebook page, along with the caption in which she hoped that such artistes would be standing before the microphone and not driving rickshaws.
(Pakistan’s eminent TV personality Wajahat Khan interviews Lata Mangeshkar for Dawn TV)
A compliment from Lataji was no mean thing. It’s an unequivocal validation of someone’s talent, Dawn said.
Aslam did not remember who recorded his clip and put it on the internet, but the mere mention of Lata Mangeshkar made him gush with a mixture of pride and humility, the paper said.
“When I heard about it, it brought tears to my eyes. I can’t thank her enough. She is such a legendary artist, a devi in the realm of singing, and I’m just an amateur. I’m not even a speck of dust in front of her. And to know that she liked my singing,” he said.
(The featured image at the top is that Karachi three driver cum singer Master Aslam)