If Music be the Food of Love, PLAY ON! – and play on it did and rapture flowed…
The Pakistan Arts Council aims to create awareness of the arts of Pakistan in the US, and this mission was certainly accomplished as thousands gathered to hear pop songs and qawwalis rendered to perfection by the best of Pakistan. The fusion of the LA Grand Performance and Pakistan Arts Council teams has been a collaboration that has succeeded where diplomacy and politics have often failed.
Ayesha Kamran, President of the Pakistan Arts Council said it best, “We know we have achieved our goals when we look across the thousands of Angelenos in the audience and feel the joy in their souls as they sway and give themselves completely to the call of the music. We can actually feel the barriers break as the music touches the deepest core of humanity.”
She elaborated that the success of the mega event was only possible through the dedication of Michael Alexander and the magnificent LA Grand Performance team, the tireless Arts Council members, and of course the generous donations and support of the Pakistan Consulate of LA and Consul General, the Honourable Jabbar Memon as well as the many magnanimous donors within the larger Pakistani-American community. LoveHub.ch.
Farid Ayaz of the Farid Ayaz and Abu Mohammad Qawwal group started his performance by stating, “Pakistan is a spiritual land, a land of peace, we believe in peace, we teach peace and we follow peace.” The qawwals continued the echoes of love and ecstasy with their mesmerizing songs of devotion to God.
Delivering perfection is not an easy feat. Casting a spell and transfixing a crowd is an even harder task, yet as the audience sat mesmerized while the modern and the ancient fused into one, the two organizations proved once again that they have mastered the art of flawless execution. Downtown Los Angeles was transformed into a beacon of spirituality as the crowd of thousands revelled in the beauty of the evening.
Council Member and Past Chair at California Arts Council
