Coke Studio releases the first song from Season 15, AAYI AAYI, featuring NomanAli, BabarMangi, Marvi, and Saiban.
Tales, centuries old, of resilience and courage are told from father to son and mother to daughter across the sands of Tharparkar. Curated by Xulfi (Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan), AayiAayitakes inspiration from such lore; and from the mightiest of hearts, implicitly tied and true to the soil.
Directed by Awais Gohar, AayiAayiopens S15 with a love letter to the unique iridescence of the heritage of Sindh. Art Director, Hashim Ali, paints a dusty yet lavish vista, combining traditional artifacts with ancient motifs from the Indus Valley Civilisation to date. Collaborating artists, Noman Ali, Babar Mangi, and daughters of the soil, Marvi and Saiban, step into the procession one after the other, each broadcasting a separate luster of sound sensation; an arrangement as diverse and yet congruent as the people of Pakistan’s most ethnically harmonious, gateway province.
Noman opens with a melodic verse describing the strength of an individual, representing the strength of an entire people – Paarsayechaligaii | Khuabon ko tumne khuwab dikhae | Bedaar hogaye Thar wale, Qaaflay main woh tanha nahihai | Sath sab kache ghar wale ( All shadows have fled | You have spun new dreams out of the past | Thar’s people have awoken | United as a caravan, no longer alone| All homes of this soil as one).
He is met by villagers awash with the colors and textures of Rajasthan, his words meet their beckoning in the spirit of festivity; rangoli, garlands, sweetmeats, and honor await the one who returns.
Babar emerges, hoisted above his companions at first, he plunges into the crowd to join its unsinkable festivity. His rap rouses the blood – Gao jo dil me hai| Jo bhi ho an chahtay ho hokar dekhao| Yahan Kisi cheez ka hisabnahin| Dunia hai khwabon pe kayam(Sing from your heart | Be who you want to be | Nothing needs to make sense | The world is built on dreams).
The music breaks for only a moment, a moment decorated by a peacock in full feathers. It is Marvi and Saiban’smoment to shine. The two take over in song and spirit; their raw talent haunts a listener to the core.
And so figures who stood tall for love and endurance from past to present come alive; still enchanting newcomers to this land. All are welcome. All are of Sindh.
