Afghan maestro Homayoun Sakhi on the rebab – Photo: Sakhi Facebook page
By Asia Samachar | Britain |
As the Taliban authorities still tinker with their policies after their takeover of Afghanistan, musicians have been one of the many groups that have have been pushed to the edge. Their very survival has become a question mark.
A famed Afghan rebab player Homayoun Sakhi lent skills to enthrall Songs of Hope: A Benefit Concert for Afghanistan on Saturday (22 Jan 2022). It was a concert with the fate of music in Afghanistan very much on their minds.
“Right now we don’t have music in Afghanistan,” Sakhi tells AFP in an interview. “It’s really difficult because there’s no concerts, there’s no music, and (for musicians) it’s very difficult to be without any money and without a job. That’s why they’re trying to go somewhere to play.”
Rebab (also spelt rubab) was the instruments at the hands of Bhai Mardana, the constant companion of Guru Nanak, the first Guru of the Sikhs, on his various travels to far flung places.
Sakhi left Afghanistan before the Taliban came to power the first time round and has lived in California for over 20 years. He flew from the United States for the concert which aimed to raise funds for emergency medicine and education in Afghanistan.
Accompanying him at the London’s Barbican concert hall was Shahbaz Hussain, one of Europe’s finest tabla players and the son of vocalist Ustad Mumtaz Hussain. They were joined by guest artist Adib Rostami playing kamancheh.
The event was organised by Afghanistan International TV, a London-based channel was set up by Volant media company, which also runs a Persian-language channel for Iranians.
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Life under the Taliban (Asia Samachar, 28 May 2020)
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