IN SYNC: Farrukh Ali Moon sings with Ustad Nazakat Ali Khan on tabla and Kanchan on guitar. Right: Moon receiving a bouquet of flowers from PMG President Shahid Rashid.
By Umer Nangiana
Young Pakistani singer Farrukh Ali Moon of Amul Star Voice of India Chotte Ustad fame enthralled the audience at Skill Development Centre here at a concert organised by Punjab Music Group (PMG) recently.
A disciple of Pakistani music maestro Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Moon lent his voice to a selection of hit songs by legendary playback singers of the subcontinent, including Kishore Kumar, Sonu Nigam, Hari Haran, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
In his teens, Moon had first impressed the music lovers across India and Pakistan when he won the runners-up award at an Indian TV music show, Amul Star Voice Of India Chote Ustad Season 2, in 2010. Hosted by Chinmayi and Omi Vaidya and judged by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Sonu Nigam, the programme had 20 contestants, 10 each from Pakistan and India. They were paired into 10 groups with one contestant from India and one from Pakistan in a group.
The Grand Finale held on October 10, 2010, saw a Wild Card entry pair of Sayantan Paul and Ahsan Ali winning the third position while the second place went to Rishabh Chaturvedi and Farrukh Ali Moon.
The winner of Chote Ustaad 2010 was the pair of Akanksha Sharma of India and Rouhan Abbas of Pakistan. Since his success at the TV show, Moon has been performing at different concerts and TV shows in Pakistan and other countries around the world.
“We take pride in promoting young music talent from the subcontinent by inviting them to Qatar and let the audience here enjoy their music. We hope to continue this tradition,” said Shahid Rashid, President of PMG, during his opening speech where he welcomed the guests and introduced the singers.
“PMG is open to singers and musicians from all over the subcontinent and artists from Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh have been regularly featuring in our programmes over the years,” he added while introducing Moon.
The young Pakistani singer started the concert with a Hamd (a song praising God) before going on to sing famous Pakistani and Indian songs with his hands on harmonium. He enthralled the audience with his more classical melodies that included a sangat (instrumental duet) with Ustad Nazakat Ali Khan on tabla (Indian percussion instrument) and Kanchan on guitar.
Besides Moon, the other singers who mesmerised the audience with their voices were Ashweriya Murali, Sonia, Jamshed, Abulkher, Ustad Tanveer, Ustad Raza Hussain (Gulu) accompanied by by Ustad Santosh on the tabla. Abdul Jabbar, a known compere from PMG, hosted the programme in his signature style.
Rashid specially thanked Ustad Nazakat Ali Khan, the chief organiser, for making the programme a success. He also acknowledged the efforts of the team that included Amir Butt (manager), Abdul Jabbar (general sec) and Mujib (stage and sound engineer).
He added that PMG will try to improve on its experience and will make the future events even bigger and better. The PMG would continue its tradition of inviting singers from subcontinent, he added. He thanked the Skill Development Centre for supporting the programme.
