Syed Mussarat Khalil
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — A reception to pay tribute and bid farewell to popular Indian artist Mirza Zakaulla Baig Chishti was recently organized at Rehma Banquet Hall by the talent promoter and chairman of Musical Extravaganza Inc. Rohail Khan.
Chishti, whose lifelong passion is semi-classical music, has earned considerable recognition among the South Asian Diaspora for his ghazals and geets.
After working as a senior IT executive in Saudi Arabia for the past 20 years, Chishti will leave the Kingdom to settle in Hyderabad, India for good.
An emotional Chishti appreciated the farewell event and thanked everyone for their goodwill gesture.
In his opening address, Khan offered gratitude to the two dozen music lovers who attended the function, describing the congregation as a “bouquet of flowers from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.”
Khan stressed the need to promote and protect the cultural traditions and heritage. An effective way to engage in this noble cause is to identify new talent from all walks of life and organize special socio-cultural events.
Earlier in 2013, in a talent promotion event, Khan launched artists from different countries including Chishti.
He said he has made special arrangements to introduce Chishti to major Bollywood artists.
A live tele-conference with Shaurin Bhatt, Bollywood artist and music composer, and Khan was screened for the attendees.
Bhatt, speaking from his Mumbai studio, spoke fervently with Chishti and assured him of his full support.
Shaurin confirmed that an audition with Bollywood’s various music directors has been planned for Chishti in Mumbai in May.
Three Jeddah-based senior artists, as representatives of their country, spoke at the event.
Tariq Raheem, a senior organizer from Pakistan, said that organizing this event is indeed a new and worthy trend. “Let us hold similar events and breed mutual harmony.”
Maher Siddiqi, a senior artist from India, said: “Chishti is a genuine artist with extraordinary skills. Above all, he is a good human being. Bidding him farewell is sad but we all wish him good luck.”
Nazmul Islam Hira, a senior guitarist and music teacher from Bangladesh said: “Cultural values and traditions bind us together. We are grateful to Rohail Khan for setting up a platform to create inter-community cooperation.”
Afroze Khan,a popular artist, came on stage and sang Kishore Kumar’s “Diyey jaltey hain.”
Chishti was awarded a Qur'an, Ajrak shawl, and an official memento from Musical Extravaganza Inc.
Those who attended the event were Tariq Raheem, Nadeem Goshi, Imran Qureshi, Shariq Islam Mani, Maher Siddiqui, Imtiaz Sharif, Afroze Khan, Bassam Peeran, Nazmul Islam Hira, Altaf Almelkar, Abdul Rafay, Syed Mashood, Ahmed Khan, including Anwer Ansari, Nasir Jawed, and Abdul Rahman M. Baig. Emad Iqbal was the director of photography.
Sikander Ali, Waseem Mukadam, Abdul Lateef, Jamal Pasha, Amjad Baig, Zahid Siddiqi, Farid Ali Khan, Mohammed Al-Mohammadi, Azhar Butt, JD Siddiqui, Raeesa Aamir, Rehna Saleem and Sara Babul called and conveyed their tributes and appreciation.
Shariq lslam Mani, president of XM Pro, said: “We all are cultural ambassadors of our respective countries. We must serve the locals and expatriates to our best abilities.”
