The Gems we Lost: 'Titliyan' by Strings

Published in The Saturday Post, Issue 188

by

Sadaf Fayyaz

The piece of writing relates with the recent, long awaited and beautiful video “Titliyan” by Strings. The tetchy videowith extremely heart touching lyrics, by Anwar Maqsood is worth watching. After a long time, someone has come up with a bright idea of paying tribute to some of the legends that have passed away. The most gorgeous thing about the composition is that not only the song is worth listening, but the video is worth watching too. When one listen to it for the first time, it goes a bit usual. But after listening to it more than once, it makes eyes tearful. The coke studio one doesn’t make one cry, though it is startling too.

The splendor comes since Strings have not only paid the tribute to singers and musicians, but legends belonging to other fields too. The list of legends is huge, since some of which like Roshan Ara Begum left us very early and some like Iqbal Bano passed away recently. The black & White shot adds a classic touch to the video. The highly emotive opening verses in the start do a fabulous job of an introductory session, of describing what the song is about. The nostalgic tone and melancholic expressions of Faisal and Bilal add more gloom to the video. The song from their album “Koi Aanay Wala Hey” is a very beguiling tribute to all these loved ones.

The tribute is paid to great poets like Faiz, Ahmed Faraz and Parvin Shakir; and Pakistani film industry icons like Muhammad Ali, Rani Sarfraz, Nayyar Sultana, Rangeela, Sultan Rahi and Waheed Murad. The tribute simply goes to Pakistani music legends like Malika Pukhraj, Iqbal Bano, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Amanat Ali, Nazia Hasan, Noor Jehan and Ahmed Rushdi. Who can forget the lively “Mamoo” and a sensitive “Timmy” of Ankahi? It’s still very difficult to forget memorable “Hasnat Bhai” of Uncle Urfi too. Similarly the tribute goes to some acting legends like Salim Nasir, Jamshed Ansari, Nanna, Khalida Riyasat, Yasmeen Ismail, Shafi Mohammad, Mehboob Alam and Mehmood Ali, including great artists like Sadeqain and Guljee. The tribute is a painful reminder of many golden flashes too. It is basically a reflection and a small capture of how we actually remember the ones we have lost. One gets distressful after watching the video.

No doubt, Strings have come up with an overwhelming tribute to all the legends and golden people of Pakistan. It wouldn’t have been that awe inspiring with the normal colors: the B&W adds an archetypical tinge to it.

But the marvelous tribute misses some celebrated people like Asad Amanat Ali, Tahira Naqvi, Agha Talish, Latif Kapadia, Hameed Wyne, Azra Sherwaani, Subhani Ba Younus, Mohsin Ali, Shahzad Khalil, Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Ishrat Hashmi, Dr. Abdus Salam, Wasim Raja, Shahida Parveen, Badar Munir, Shahnawaz Ghumman, Arsh-e-Munir, Darpan, Santosh, Meena Shori, Qurban Jilani, Akhlaq Ahmed, Swaran Lata, Zahoor Ahmed, Sudhir and Yousaf Khan who left us two months ago. Razia Bhatti is one of the “Women of Pakistan”, who died of brain hemorrhage at a much younger age. I may have missed out some other names too, but a feeling that so many icons have left us, leaves a dreadful sensation on mind. None of these can ever be forgotten and the legends will live in hearts forever. A brilliant video by Soheb Akhtar, the place where verses “Ek Jheel thi, Kayi Phool they Sab mit gaye, Kya Karein”, a picture of Nazia Hasan comes. On her demise, Noor Jehan compared her with a flower in her words” Roses wither quickly and Nazia was a rose”. On the verses “Girti Kirne Tera Aanchal…Koyal”, one sees a picture of Noor Jehan, who sang “Raat Pheli hey tere Surmai Anchal” penned by Kaleem Usmani very poignantly. One can never forget the classic film Koyal. Nevertheless, “Titliyan” is a beautifully composed attempt with exceedingly cavernous lyrics, gleaming direction and affecting music.