National songs play a vital role in instilling love for a country in the hearts of children and the youth. They are the incentive and encouragement needed to express affection for one’s motherland in every way possible.
I remember when I was in school and TV channels would play the national anthem and patriotic songs beginning early August. The voices of the singers – painting new colours to the land in the minds of the patriots and making green flags greener – were the background music of our childhood. Skits and performances on patriotic songs were the life of celebrations in August, especially in schools on Independence Day.
Those soulful qaumi naghmay inculcated the love and sense of loyalty for Pakistan within me; I could feel my heart growing fonder of the songs and of my land. I wonder what today’s youth listen to during the month of August, since TV channels show a variety of content, yet I haven’t come across any great patriotic song in a long time, except for some remakes and remixes of the old classics.
Each and every one of these classic melodies was like honey to the ears, and they still are. This August, let’s take a trip down memory lane and celebrate our 68th Independence Day with the same songs like we used to.
1. Wattan Ki Mitti
Nayyara Noor’s ‘Wattan Ki Mitti’ is one of the most soothing national songs. Her soft voice and clear expressions makes it a classic for generations to come. If you try and delve into the lyrics, you will realise that you are making your land the witness to all that you have been doing to, for and around your soil.
One of the most captivating lines in the song is,
“Teri hi janib har ik nazar hai”
(All eyes are on you)
I could see this happening when Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York recently made a trip to Pakistan – people proudly owned up to their identity of being a Pakistani, and their interest in how the world was responding to Stanton’s coverage was apparent through their comments.
2. Ye Wattan Tumhara Hai
Mehndi Hassan was a legend. This particular classic of pure love can live in your heart for eternity. His voice holds the purest feelings, and you can almost taste the sweetness of this song. One of my favourite lines is,
“Hum to sirf unwaan thay, asal dastaan tum ho.”
(We were just the topics, you are the real story.)
It beautifully highlights the role of the younger generation on taking Pakistan to greater heights and in achieving what our ancestors had wished for us and our homeland. It’s a simple yet powerful way of calling the youth towards their duty, through such tasteful composition and lyrics. This fervour has been missing in our national songs for years.
3. Mera Paigham Pakistan
Mera Paigham Pakistan is by another legendary voice, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. We have struggled a lot for Pakistan, generations spent their lives dreaming about it, fighting and sacrificing their lives for it, and only then did it came into being. When I listen to this song, I feel a deep connection with my country.
4. Dil Dil Pakistan
Vital Signs’s Dil Dil Pakistan won the hearts of Pakistanis since day one. It never gets old. Moreover, in 2003, Dil Dil Pakistan was ranked third in the BBC World Service international poll of popular songs.
5. Aye Jawan
Haroon and Fakhir’s Aye Jawan used to be the favourite of all school celebrations and performances on Independence Day. This song manages to breathe life into me in a way that unrestrained josh (energy) takes over me. This song would make you jerk your head like a crazy person or the least make you enjoy the dance steps of Haroon and Fakhir.
Our music industry is maturing, but good quality national songs are what our youth needs. Their singers, their role models, the people who they look up to and listen to, singing about their love for Pakistan is what they need to absorb while bringing out the warmth of the love they have in them but haven’t yet discovered.
Coke Studio’s season eight cover of “Sohni Dharti” is a perfect example; it makes you crave for more and gives you a rush of mixed emotions. It does that by promoting the right faces, voices, and instruments to whom and to which our younger generation can relate to.
“Allah rakhay qadam qadam abaad tujhay. Ameen.”
(May God bless you every step of the way)
With high hopes of good national music and a brighter future for Pakistan, I wish you all happy Independence Day.
from The Express Tribune Blog http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/28962/5-classic-national-songs-every-patriotic-pakistani-can-relate-to-today/
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