Something more than music

Shazhad Roy seems to be developing a knack for working on projects that are destined to create somewhat of a bang. His latest offering comes in the form of a musical collaboration between him and queen of Sufi soul, Abida Parween, rooted on his latest venture – Equality in Education.

Ever since the establishment of the Zindagi trust some odd five years ago, Roy has been focusing on providing education to those who need it but when it comes to Equality in Education, moves a step forward in that he now attempts to eradicate boundaries and differences amongst individuals in our society created by the different kinds of education systems prevalent in the country.

Talking exclusively to Images, Roy spoke about how he approached Abia Parween for lending her vocals to the song after he had composed the music for it. When it first begins the song seems to be somewhat of an instrumental with soft guitar riffs that build up momentum gradually, however, not too much. Shahzad Roy isn’t the primary vocalist, leaving that to Abida Parween, and prefers to sing only one line throughout the composition: aao dey dein inhay zindagi (come, let’s give them life).

Abida apa, as he is prone to calling her, listened to the composition and consented to sing for the 'Aao dey dein inhay zindagi'. Previously before this, Abida Parween has never collaborated with any other musician on any project and this is also her first proper music video to date. The introduction of her vocals come as a burst of energy into the song and the overall effect may be considered to be somewhat brilliant. According to Roy, she’s added an amazing spiritual element to the song.

During the interview Shahzad also spoke about a conversation between him and Bryan Adams during his last visit to the country, in which Adams pointed out that one need not look for inspiration elsewhere when it came to material for music, there was so much to write and sing about, right here.

Directed by Sohaib, the video is simply done with Roy in front of a chalk board and Abida somewhere near him, in other frames books, children and an abacus also make their appearance in the midst of text scrolling across the screen with messages in them. The video is expected to be released on the airwaves shortly.

But this is not the only thing that Shahzad Roy has up his sleeve. The heir to the English throne, Prince Charles has offered to send representatives from the Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO) to help train teachers working for the Zindagi trust as well. A workable plan is being formulated currently to help get this in process.

Also joining in the Zindagi Trust team is Sami Mustafa, the principle of the Centre of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Karachi. Shahzad acknowledges his contribution and is pretty excited about having him on board. Shazad speaks very strongly about education and how it can help to not only change a person’s life but also their overall civic sense. At the end of it all, it can easily be said that not only does Shahzad Roy has a vision (or several visions enclosed in one), he has the focus, determination and most importantly, the heart to try and realise it as well. His collaboration with Abida Parween might just be a little peek into how he plans to go about it.

First Published:
Images
May 20, 2007