Junoon rocks Srinagar breaking the Jehadi barriers

The magical vibrations tuned around the Dal Lake mesmerised the souls of even the unanimated beings that day. It seemed as if the water goddess, who was buried deep inside the lake for fear of its rape by the hands of the foreigners, had arisen out of its forceful sleep and fused with the throats of the Sufi singers, the strings of the guitar and everything around.

The Pakistani top rock band “Junoon” drove the “terror struck innocents” out from their pain and fear. The rare event proved to be highly successful with nearly 4,000 Kashmiris present to attend the live performance of an unparalleled band.

The success of the concert also sprouts up from the fact that so many Kashmiris, especially youth, headed for the live concert despite threats from the militant organisation, United Jehad Council. Salman Ahmed, the lead singer of Junoon was desperate to play live in this “Garden of Eden” and was trying to gain permission for the same for last ten years.

The band swept the audience towards frenzy as it performed on numbers like Khudi Ko Kar Buland Itna, Ya Ali and the popular Sayoonee. As the concept moved further, the Kashmiris found themselves dissolving into the darkness of night with the dishevelling Dama Dum Mast Kalandar. Their individual spirits melted to galvanise into one soul of Kashmir as Ahmad sang a stanza from the band's famous album Azadi.

Actually, it was an event of the inauguration of a Kashmir study centre at Kashmir University and the band in the concert was organised to add spice to the event. But it turned out to be the first live concert of its own kind. As the huge crowd gathered for the uncommon event in the valley, the clapping and cheering went hand in hand with the stringent guitar riffs and the melodious Sufi lyrics.

With former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga, Union Minister Mani Shankar Iyer and Farooq Abdullah Khan to grace the occasion, the event succeeded in spreading the message of love and peace and in knitting their hearts with the strings of musical harmony. The event would surely be recalled in future as a great historical achievement.

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