The Gems We Lost: “Titliyan” by Strings

By
Sadaf Fayyaz

The piece of writing relates with the recent, long awaited and beautiful video “Titliyan” by
Strings. The tetchy video with extremely heart touching lyrics, by Anwar Maqsood is worth
watching. After a long time, someone has come up with a bright idea of paying tribute to some of
the legends that have passed away. The most gorgeous thing about the composition is that not
only the song is worth listening, but the video is worth watching too. When one listen to it for the
first time, it goes a bit usual. But after listening to it more than once, it makes eyes tearful. The
coke studio one doesn’t make one cry, though it is startling too.
The splendor comes since Strings have not only paid the tribute to singers and musicians, but
legends belonging to other fields too. The list of legends is huge, since some of which like
Roshan Ara Begum left us very early and some like Iqbal Bano passed away recently. The black
& White shot adds a classic touch to the video. The highly emotive opening verses in the start do
a fabulous job of an introductory session, of describing what the song is about. The nostalgic
tone and melancholic expressions of Faisal and Bilal add more gloom to the video. The song
from their album “Koi Aanay Wala Hey” is a very beguiling tribute to all these loved ones.
The tribute is paid to great poets like Faiz, Ahmed Faraz and Parvin Shakir; and Pakistani film
industry icons like Muhammad Ali, Rani Sarfraz, Nayyar Sultana, Rangeela, Sultan Rahi and
Waheed Murad. The tribute simply goes to Pakistani music legends like Malika Pukhraj, Iqbal
Bano, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Amanat Ali, Nazia Hasan, Noor Jehan and Ahmed Rushdi. Who
can forget the lively “Mamoo” and a sensitive “Timmy” of Ankahi? It’s still very difficult to
forget memorable “Hasnat Bhai” of Uncle Urfi too. Similarly the tribute goes to some acting
legends like Salim Nasir, Jamshed Ansari, Nanna, Khalida Riyasat, Yasmeen Ismail, Shafi
Mohammad, Mehboob Alam and Mehmood Ali, including great artists like Sadeqain and Guljee.
The tribute is a painful reminder of many golden flashes too. It is basically a reflection and a
small capture of how we actually remember the ones we have lost. One gets distressful after
watching the video.
No doubt, Strings have come up with an overwhelming tribute to all the legends and golden
people of Pakistan. It wouldn’t have been that awe inspiring with the normal colors: the B&W
adds an archetypical tinge to it.
But the marvelous tribute misses some celebrated people like Asad Amanat Ali, Tahira Naqvi,
Agha Talish, Latif Kapadia (father of Faisal Kapadia), Hameed Wyne, Azra Sherwaani, Subhani
Ba Younus, Mohsin Ali, Shahzad Khalil, Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Ishrat Hashmi, Dr. Abdus
Salam, Wasim Raja, Shahida Parveen, Badar Munir, Shahnawaz Ghumman, Arsh-e-Munir,
Darpan, Santosh, Meena Shori, Qurban Jilani, Akhlaq Ahmed, Swaran Lata, Zahoor Ahmed,
Sudhir and Yousaf Khan who left us two months ago. Razia Bhatti is one of the “Women of
Pakistan”, who died of brain hemorrhage at a much younger age. I may have missed out some
other names too, but a feeling that so many icons have left us, leaves a dreadful sensation on
mind. None of these can ever be forgotten and the legends will live in hearts forever. A brilliant
video by Soheb Akhtar, the place where verses “Ek Jheel thi, Kayi Phool they Sab mit gaye, Kya
Karein”, a picture of Nazia Hasan comes. On her demise, Noor Jehan compared her with a
flower in her words” Roses wither quickly and Nazia was a rose”. On the verses “Girti Kirne
Tera Aanchal…Koyal”, one sees a picture of Noor Jehan, who sang “Raat Pheli hey tere Surmai
Anchal” penned by Kaleem Usmani very poignantly. One can never forget the classic film
Koyal. Nevertheless, “Titliyan” is a beautifully composed attempt with exceedingly cavernous
lyrics, gleaming direction and affecting music.