A fundraiser titled "The Story of Ghazal"- its history, composition and performance was superbly crafted in support of the unique Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust (SNPET) and its Higher Secondary School a home to over 930 students. Just as the school is known for its transformative qualities so was the fundraiser. The event was a profound learning experience in social history, technical appreciation of sur and laay that was beautifully rendered by two outstanding expert. Ally Adnan an engineer by profession with renaissance passions, a man of outstanding research, care and insights as an art historian, critic and promoter, designed and executed the evening’s program. To demonstrate and perform the harmonies of Ghazal, Akbar Ali a highly accomplished sensitive vocalist sang the famous ghazals “Faiz Ahmed Faiz's Ghazal Gulon Mein Rang Bhare &Parveen Shakir’s Ku-Ba-Ku Phail Gai Baat Shanasai Ki” and accompanied by the young upcoming percussionist Asher Shehzad Samuel.
The event was attended by over 150 supporters/connoisseurs of music and the arts including families, faculty and alumni/students of the school who were mesmerized for two hours with the origins of Ghazal -its poetry, music, rhythms and social constructions. Dr. Rashid Hameed Lateef and Dr. Sajid Maqbool Pakistan’s leading health professionals, Adeel Hashmi – a public figure and promoter of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ms. Ghazala Rahman the doyen of Pakistani design and furniture; actors Omair Rana, Sami Khan including musicians like Ali Hamza and Rakae Jamil were present to enjoy and lend support to the Sanjan Nagar Education brand.
The evening opened with the launch of SNPET’s short powerful video conceived by Nafisa Khalid a marketing expert and volunteer for the trust, produced by Aleena Naghman with music by Rakae Jamil and Red Brick Studio. The video was a great prelude to the actual four live journeys narrated by the Sanjan Nagar’s alumi and current students. The diversity of the four sterling human beings, ranging from Sanjan Nagar’s secondary school Section Head-a leader trained at GCU and University of Massachusetts Attiya Anwar; to Amina Chaudhry, with a masters from LUMs embarking on her Fulbright Phd program at Rutgers university in molecular biology, to Fizza Hafeez studying to be a Space Scientist and ambitions of being an astronaut and an amazing artist to Alisha Khan, a current student inspired by the performing arts, all mesmerized the audience. They shared with pride the amazing pathways and milestones that not just illuminated their academic capabilities but also inquiring and innovative skills that has made them become extra ordinary and caring human beings. They were comfortable and grounded in their humble backgrounds as children of drivers, tailors, biased fathers who left their family if a daughter was born, because now they had created their own firm ground they stood upon, thanks to their school experiences and dedicated teachers that helped them “overcome complex challenges and dream big”. Each one of them illuminated the evening with their intellectual resolve, embedded in local contexts, committed to Pakistan, propelled by 21st century skills and passion to inspire many more girls and boys towards human excellence. Yes, their power came from their unusual multi-disciplinary holistic ‘learning’ spurred by the motto “Enabling Our Future” The story of Ghazal was dedicated to them and 1000s more like them nurtured by the magical Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust that will continue to make Pakistan proud.
