Cheema Communications

A Memorable Evening with Naila Mughal

by Girish J Modi

A version of this article was published in the Indian American Weekly India Tribune and Atlanta based South Asian monthly Atlanta Dunia

Naila Mughal may not be as popular as Ghulam Ali, Jagjit Singh, Pankaj Udhas or Munni Begum and the likes in the United States, but in Pakistan she is a rising star and gaining popularity as a new voice in ghazal, geet and sufi songs. On Saturday, January 2^nd 2010, Naila came to Atlanta and enthralled more than two hundred devoted fans of ghazal and geet at the Global Mall.

Naila Mughal started singing from an early age when she competed and won many musical performances at her school and college. She was trained first by Ustaad Wajid Ali Khan Sahib and later on by A. B. Kabeer. Naila started her professional career in 2004 and started singing for the TV. She performed for live TV shows, as playback singer for TV dramas and films. She is a very talented and versatile artist who can sing Hindi and Urdu ghazals, geet, pop songs, folk songs and bhangra-style songs. She is a gifted performer on the stage. She has traveled all over the US, Europe, and different countries of Asia for her music tours. National concert promoter Mr. Manzoor Cheema of CheemaCommunications.com brought her to Atlanta. The concert in Atlanta was organized by Mr. Mustafa Ajmeri who has been active in the South Asian media and event organizing scene for the last 30 years.

The actual performance by Naila Mughal started a little bit late but once started it  continued into wee hours of the night. While Atlanta experienced record drop in temperature, the audience inside the hall was sufficiently warmed up after listening to Naila’s melodious and captivating voice. They kept making requests for more songs which Naila generously acceded to without showing a hint of being tired or losing her voice.

Among many items of the night, Naila sang famous poems and ghazals including Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s iconic Mujh se pahli si mohhabat mere mehboob na mang, which was also sung by the late Madam Noorjahan;  “Ulfat ki Nayi manzil” sung previously by Iqbal Bano; popular song “ghoongru tut gaye” sung previously by Runa Laila; and the concluding sufi song (dhamal) “Damadam Mast Kalandar.” Naila captured the hearts of audience when she sang Yeh  jo halka halka surur hai, a qawwali sung and composed by the legendary Ustad  Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan; Chhap tilak written by the thirteenth century poet and music composer Hazrat Amir Khusroo;  Lambi Judai sung previously by Reshma  and “Honton se chhulo” sung by Jagjit Singh.  She also sang famous songs from Indian films Umrao Jaan and Pakeezah.

When Naila sang the last song of the night “Damadam mast kalandar,” it was just before 2 A.M. and the audience were still wide awake ready to hit the dance floor.

Naila was accompanied by the famous Pakistanti tabla player Umaid Hussain and keyboard specialist Saad Ali. The program organizer, Mustafa Ajmeri, thanked sponsors, which included Mr. Nil Patel of Paras gold , Mumtaz  boutique, Sara of Natural Identity and B4U video store. He also thanked his friends Nadir Jiwani; photographer Darshan Shah; Upendra Bhatt; Mehul and Vipul Patel; Ashiana Restaurant; Mumbai Masala; Ali Bhai who provided sound system and also entertained the audience with his gifted singing; and media partners wownow.com, Atlanta Dunia and Events by Salima for helping him organize a memorable event.