Pak girls band traces influences to classical, Bollywood music

New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) Introduced to Hindustani classical music when they were just kids, Zeb and Haniya, of popular girl band duo from Pakistan, say they were "quite shocked" when they learnt that the Indian melody queen Lata Mangeshkar was not from Pakistan. "In our childhood, the cable TV in our area used to catch Doordarshan (Indian TV channel). So "Chitrahar" (a programme on Hindi film songs) became a regular. We grew up listening to those songs, without knowing that this music is from India - a different country. For us, it was music, our music, the borders were irrelevant. It was only when we grew up that geography dawned on us," says Zeb who is visiting India with cousin Haniya. The duo is making their debut in the annual South Asian bands festival beginning here on December 2 that will include 15 popular rock bands from across nine countries of the subcontinent. "Grew up in a family where everyone not only loved music but also lived it. Our grandmother used to hum Hindi lullabies; there was an uncle of ours who owned recordings of the entire series of 'Geetmala' (a weekly radio countdown show of top film songs from Indian cinema). So we were shocked when we came to know that Lata Mangeskar was not a Pakistani," says Zeb. The singer duo is very excited about the concert here from December 2 for which they say they have a surprise in tow. "We are featuring two surprise musicians in our performance. One from a local Delhi band and the other also from Delhi but doing a very different kind of music," Haniya who is a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter told PTI. Hailing from Kohat near Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan the band sings in more languages than its members speak. Their repertoire comprise mostly Urdu songs but some of the songs are also in Pashto, Persian and Turkish. "As kids we used to listen to Dari and Pashto songs, sung by migrant Pashtuns from Afghanistan. We just learnt the music, even though we didn't understand the lyrics," says Zeb. Their very first song, "Chup", composed when the duo was studying in the US was released on the internet, and was picked up and made popular by radio stations in Pakistan. Zeb and Haniya are also coming up with their yet to be named, new album early 2012. "Beginning of 2012 we will come up with our new album with all original tracks in Urdu. We have not named the album yet," says Haniya. The artistes also dream to translate and sing the poems of their grandmother Jamsheeda Begum who had a big influence on them. "Our grandmother used to write poems in Urdu, Pashto and Dari. We would love to use the poems by our beloved grandmother in our projects," says Zeb. Coming from Pakistan, which is usually portrayed as an orthodox country, the success of Zeb and Haniya comes as a surprise to many but the duo thinks it was easier for them in Pakistan more than it could be in any other country. "It was really easy for us. We never faced any opposition from any quarter. In fact the music industry was more than welcoming when we made our foray," says Zeb. The singers say they believe Pakistan gives its artist lot of freedom to experiment and be themselves. "In Pakistan nobody tells us what to write and sing. We have the freedom to compose what we believe in," says Zeb. Zeb and Haniya also say that they never had to face any pressure in Pakistan to be glamorized, unlike in other countries where woman performers are forced by industry norms to be glamorous. "In Pakistan our style was appreciated. But when we toured other places we observed that trend there was more about your looks than your talent," says the duo. The singer duo plan to meet students in Delhi for interaction. They met students from Jawaharlal Nehru University on December 1 and performed in front of a cheering crowd. The band came into existence while both Zebunnisa Bangash and Haniya Aslam were studying in United States. They released their debut album in July, 2008 which was produced by Mekaal Hasan. Nine of their debut album's 10 songs are original compositions. PTI