Afrah Jamal

..couldn't wait any longer, had to post it here. Miss the Daily Times of yore . There is nothing to announce the arrival of Fall in Karachi; leaves do not change color, temperatures stay constant and billboards of chilled coffees lurk in the rearview. Nothing, except the ‘ Pepsi Unplugged – Fall Edition’ . It is a series of invite only events designed around live singing and dynamic playlists. They recently held a show in Lahore and rounded off the year by adding some inter-continental flavor to the mix for their anniversary celebrations in Karachi. The names were a highly guarded secret revealed just a few days before the event. Their presence underscored the growing scope of the ‘Unplugged’ series and the enterprising spirit of its creators. And, if the press releases are to be believed, such visits were to be the first of many, offering Karachiwalas a mixed platter of Sufism, Folk and Bhangra that kept the crowd going till 2 in the morning. Josh, an Indo-Pak band that ...

First Published in Economic Affairs (Islamabad) / June 2014 This brother / sister duo came highly recommended. Their music video launch / press conference held at Port Grand, (Karachi) will be the talk of town. And their experimental new sound would be put up for review. Komal Rizvi, who made her debut as a singer / actress / VJ in the 1990’s, was staging a comeback with her new single - ‘Kalli Kalli’ in April 2014. Hasan Rizvi stars in the video with his sister; Sohail Javed directs. It would be Komal’s first launch and Hasan’s umpteenth choreography. The filming had been eventful, the storyboard toyed with the elements - water, fire,,,, etc, as did the musicians; one was scorched, the other drowned, several times over reportedly. Nothing had dampened their ardour, or kept them from bombarding Sohail with a steady stream of creative input. ‘ Add a tabla ’ one would say, ‘ how about a sitar’ the other would suggest. The award winning director survived, and was later ...