Pakistani Ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali was presented with the first Swaralaya Global Legendary Award at a function in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday evening. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and CPI(M) State unit secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan jointly presented the award, which comprises Rs.1 lakh, a statuette and a citation.
Ghulam Ali said that he had not experienced such love ever in his long career.
“I have been singing for around 55 years. I have never before seen or experienced such love for my music. This day is very important for me. I am just a small time singer. I am not a big artiste,” he said.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, in his inaugural speech, said that this was a day on which the flag of Kerala’s secular mind flew high.
“Kerala has today yet again proved that it has the ability to have a broadminded view of things. This event upholds that long cultural heritage of our State,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan said that Ghulam Ali would have been known as an Indian musician if the partition had not happened.
“Though he is from Pakistan, he is like a brother for Malayalis. Three decades ago, poet Balachandran Chullikkad brought Ali’s music to our ears through his poem Ghazal . The poisoned minds of the Sangh Parivar forces opposed his singing here and brought disrepute to our land. Shakespeare had once said that those who hate music are criminally inclined,” he said.
CPI(M) Polit Bureau member M.A. Baby, who presided over the function, said the fact that Ghulam Ali was singing in Kerala was a loud cultural declaration.
“It is before the creativity of humans that national boundaries formed at various phases of history fades away. Music, literature and art bring the world together. The philosophy of Vasudaivakudumbakam encompasses this idea. But a few narrow-minded people who go against these ideas are preventing the world from uniting through creativity. The determination to fight these discordant notes with pure music has won here,” he said.
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala welcomed Ghulam Ali to the State in a short speech delivered in Hindi. Ghazal singer Pandit Viswanath was also honoured at the function. Ghulam Ali’s concert will be held at Nishagandhi at 5.45 p.m. on Friday.
