Globally renowned artists Shahid Niazi and Sami Niazi perform at Virasat
By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 23 Apr: Students from seven schools came together for the Craft Workshops with Master Craftsmen in the morning at Virasat, held in the B.R. Ambedkar Stadium, Kaulagarh Road. The schools that participated were Jaswant Modern Senior Secondary School, Doon International School, Kendriya Vidyalaya ITBP, Kendra Vidayala UPPER CAMP, The Montessori School, Olympus High School, Him Jyoti School and BS Negi Polytechnic College. Over 120 students enjoyed Tie and Die, Kite making, Paper Flower Making, Jute Doll Making, Block Prints, Mandana Art, Face Art and Pottery. Moreover, during the daily program of Virasat, a press conference was organised by REACH in a hotel located on Kaulagarh Road. 
The senior members of the organisation said, “We, on behalf of the REACH organisation, thank all the people of the media who have supported the heritage in their newspapers, news channels and web portals and have given the artistes of the country space in the same. The media support of Dehradun’s Virasat 2022 has been praised by all, be it well-known artistes or the country’s emerging artistes”. RK Singh, General Secretary of REACH, said, “Virasat is a platform for the emerging artistes of our country. 
By presenting them in front of the people on this platform, the arts and artistes from Uttarakhand and across the country are encouraged. Our aim is that the little children of the country should preserve our heritage and pass it on to the coming generation.” He said, “In the coming few days, under the heritage cultural program, performances of many eminent artistes will be held, which include Padma Bhushan Parveen Sultana, Ghazal singer Talat Aziz and other artistes.” Heritage cultural program provides a joint art presentation platform to some new and budding artistes and well-known artistes to boost their confidence and make them feel respected for their art. Vijay Ranjan, DN Singh, Sunil Verma, Vijayshree Joshi, Kalpana Sharma and other members were present at the press conference on behalf of REACH. 
The night started with Pandit Uday Kumar Mallick on the stage. He is the founder of Dhrupad Academy, New Delhi. He belongs to the worldfamous Darbhanga Gharana, known for Dhrupad & Pakhawaj for 350 years, and many of his family members are highly decorated with various prestigious awards and honours. He is the founder of Dhrupad Academy, New Delhi. He is dedicated to the prosperity and expansion of Indian Classical Music and is teaching a new generation of musicians. Pt. Mallick performs internationally in concerts, conferences, festivals, on television and radio. The Bihar Sangeet Natak Academy museum, UP Sangeet Natak Academy and Central Sangeet Natak Academy, Delhi, carry his audio and video recordings. He performed Raag Rageshwari in Dhama Taal of Dhamar style, whose lyrics include “Kunj Bihari Radha Pyari and Sham Bhayalba More Mandarwa”, and ended his presentation with Thumri and Bhajan. Accompanying him were Rupesh Pathak (Vocal), Zakir Dholpuri (Harmonium), Mithilesh Jha (Tabla), Kumari Rupam and Muskan Mahi (Tanpura). Later, the stage resonated with the famous Qawwals and Sufi singers from Rampur Gharana, Shahid Niazi and Sami Niazi (Niazi brothers), globally renowned for their music. They are continuing the 250-year old family tradition of Rampur Gharana of Qawwali. Ustad Niyazi describes Qawwali as “Roohe-Ghiza” (food for the soul). Qawwali was created in the 13th century by fusing Indian, Persian, Turkish and Arabic musical traditions by Delhi’s Sufi saint Amir Khusro Dehlavi of the Chisti order of Sufis. The central themes of Qawwali are love, devotion and longing of man for the divine. Sami Niazi appreciated the audience of Dehradun and was glad to be invited back to the festival. They performed the traditional qawwali by Amir Khusrow, followed by Punjabi and Bollywood qawwalis like “Khwaja Mere Khwaja” as requested by the audience. Their performance accompanied Hamid Hussain, Maazid and Mukaram Niazi (vocal), Parvez Niazi and Wasif Niazii (Dholak), Vijay Kumar (Tabla), Rishu Kumar (Keyboard).
