I am sure many of ATP readers will be surprised to see this photograph in which former President Musharraf is saluting his most vocal critic Imran Khan.
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Adil Najam
Even the most ardent fans of Attaullah Khan Eesakhelvi will often under-estimate his importance in the history of Pakistan music. The importance of the Eesakhailvi phenomenon goes well beyond his songs and was central in literally changing the face of Pakistani music.
Music has always had a central place at ATP. We have featured Shoaib Mansoor’s Anarkali, Sohail Rana’s tunes, Masood Rana’s tangay walla khair mangda, songs filmed on Waheed Murad, Runa Laila’s songs, Mehdi Hassan’s milli naghmay, the timeless melodies of Madam Noor Jahan, the qawallis of the Sabri Brothers and Aziz Mian, and more contemporary fare from Junoon, Rabbi Shergill, Rahim Shah, Strings, Jazz renditions based on Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and the multiple renditions of Bulleh Shah.
But from the very beginning I knew that I had to do a post on Eesakhailvi. And not just because I have been a huge fan of his; also because I think that even his fans do not appreciate the impact he had in launching the ‘cassette revolution’ in Pakistan.
There is rather little information on Attaullah on the Internet (Although since we originally wrote this post a wonderful fan site has been established). At one level this is rather surprising. At another level, this is typical for Attaullah Eesakhailvi.
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