The Lahore Music Meet 5 ~ The Story of the Biryani Bros & the All Access Pass!

LMM Founders, Zahra & Natasha

Dostiyan...Friendship between Natasha Noorani and Zahra Paracha started over music, biryani and baatien :) The stuff of true friendship always starts over sharing music and aik nawala~kuch bhee :) Both musicians and creative power houses, laid the foundation of their home of music with the birth of their beautiful baby, the Lahore Music Meet, 5 years ago in 2015. The baby is growing and glowing. It is a rising chaand tara on the music scene of Pakistan. Supported by the power above and a fleet of energetic college volunteers they have created a team Jis nay Lahore ko tameez sikha de! I witnessed it first hand when I ran to Alhamra on Day 1, of LMM at 11 am, to get the free pass to the Pepsi Hall for Saakin, my favorite band of 2019.

I entered to see my fellow citizens standing in a line and waiting! I rushed to the counter only to find that all the early birds got the worms, i.e. there were no passes left. I was heartbroken and said no to the free and very cool LMM memorabilia being offered!Such was my disappointment. Till I finally spotted Natasha in a smart black jacket, luscious long locks, standing at the LMM table. 

I walked up to her and tried to make a connection. Yes very Lahori of me! “I’m so and so and I know your sister and u know my brother blah, blah, blah”. Long story she politely said, in a kind businesslike manner, “please come early next year and get your pass” Wah I thought, a bit angry as I walked away, but I liked this woman because she had stood her ground, calmly.

Smiling inside and thinking, koi nahi beta, next time hi sahi. Ran into my childhood, celeb fashion designer friend (at this hour?!) and we started chatting on a manjee. Suddenly we were barged by photographers, whom we both obliged with comments about LMM and its creators. Then came two boys offering us Free Mocca Coffee! Then two more haseens arrived and garlanded us with All Access Passes in our necks. As I sat there with hair envy of all the young people, laughing, me the poor, unknown poetess and writer with my high flying designer buddy , he looked at me, grinned and said, “Sadhay Naal Raho Gay Tou Aesh Karo Gay!!” I burst out laughing and said, indeed :) 

That night I dressed up! My embroidered teal Kashmiri poncho, long boots, Bahawalpuri jhumkaas and bipolar curls and ran to the Pepsi hall alone, the all access pass in my neck that only admitted one. No entry backstage. No lounge for fans and stars ;) An hour early, I walked through the front of Alhamra lit beautifully and decorated with kagaz kay flags, manjees with gow takyas and Gaindaas heaving in the flowerbeds. The outdoor stage looked super with its slick truss roof and moody lights. The very cool building banners with fusionesque graphics of women, instruments and architecture proudly read Made in Pakistan. The shaadi light towers. All setting the mood for a perfect evening, by myself. 

The crowd was a mix of millennials in their tight jeans, boots and crop sweaters. Everyone had a complete, individual style. From men with kajal eyes, their karktay kurtay and voluminous shalwars to the arty bun boys with their long beards, leather jackets, Jinnah hats, sunglasses and crazy locks! Oh God how I missed being twenty something, I thought before I put on my gold rimmed glasses. Now I could see and appreciate them more clearly! 

I entered the Hall early. Perks of the pass and sat front row, like a Shodi! Also well because dour ki nazar kharaab hai! I watched as the young hall management buzzed around, asking anyone who sat to move, but me, as they were the official sponsor rows!!! In time, I looked back and the whole hall was full of a crazy mix from all over Pakistan and some bewildered looking goras. From families in burkaas to the rocking young-ones, and a sprinkling of the 90’s generation. It was a pretty eclectic bunch!  Natasha and Zahra came on stage.  Seeing me, sitting front row, Natasha came down the steps and said, “I don’t know how you got through the system to get here but welcome.” I smiled quietly and said nothing. 

Shamoon Ismail

I watched as the announcement was made for Shamoon Ismail. Who is this guy? I thought. Suddenly this young, gora clean shave guy comes on stage. A quiet smile and a swagger. Hmmm I thought cute hai, till he opened his mouth and said, ok everyone stand up! And off he went. 

The music. Sexy,  R & B in Urdu, Punjabi & English in a deep, honey voice...Take you where you wanna go!...and he did Indeed;) Catchy lyrics and groovy tunes. Damn I knew I had to get up and I did. A sea of young girls and boys rushed in and filled the space right before the stage. They knew every lyric and sang loudly along with him. I joined in the sea of swaying hips and arms. 

I have never felt so protected in a public concert. Women and men all around me, every size, city and orientation. Arms circled around me in protective pose as we danced like a beautiful, mad house. The camera man looked on in confusion and awe at the sheer female-male vibe of collective movement and community before him. He couldn’t decide what to focus on and who. Such is the sheer beauty and sexuality of Pakistan women and men! Quite paralyzing! The number of screens in out stretched palms all filming Shamoon the star and the mad sea that didn’t care about dancing on camera. I just let go and let the music lead me. I drowned in the ocean and we danced in waves till his last song. Then they dispersed as quietly as that had come, leaving an empty shore. 

Saakin

The next act was Saakin- the boys discovered on top of a bookstore in Islamabad. A haunting, multi-faith band that mixes hair raising, harmonizing vocals and unique native instruments with a touch of Naat, Qawali, Sufi and Rock. The Queen of Pakistan. Such is the sheer force of and Broadway quality of their sound. Shot to fame in a beautifully mysterious video Saqi-e-Bewafa in 2019 this humble and talented group, stood barefoot while singing. 

They have also sung the title track for Zindagi Tamasha Hai, a stunning song for the yet to be released movie by Sarmad Khoosat that is yet to pass the censor board. We need to all fight for its release and for the freedom of artistic expression in Pakistan. I was so impressed with Saakin’s quiet deepness and compassion. The whole hall sat quietly and listened to their every word with the deference, awe and respect that this group deserves. After they finished I quietly left to go home to my beautiful husband and children.

Day 2 at LMM was on a beautiful, sunny spring, Sunday. Driving through our mesmerizing Lahore, her roads full of old tall green trees, fragrant flowers and dancing birds. Past our favorite park Bagh-e-Jinnah, the Governor House, and on the majestic Mall Road.

The Alhamra that literally means a woman in “red clothes” built by esteemed architect, Nayyar Ali Dada is a majestic brickscape complex of formidable blocks with grand halls, galleries, outdoor spaces and canteen with monuments of Allama Iqbal, sculptures and a beautiful tile mosaic wall.

An apt venue of all the art and cultural events and festivals in Lahore. It is a feast to spend time in all its corners. I’ve been going there since I was four to participate in children’s art exhibitions and attend classical dancing classes by Maharaj Jee. 

My whole family of music lovers of all ages decided to go. I invited my teachers and friends. We packed our basket with oranges, chai and a dasterkhan and off we went. We were there at eleven and stayed till eight pm! The day was spent lying on manjees in the sun, eating stunning food. Garma garam Awesamosas (Dum Keema & Reeses ), Suli’s unbelievable thin crust, oven baked pizza made with sourdough, and fresh toppings and Karachi Kanteen’s delicious Bun Kababs and piping hot pots of Sindhi Biryani. Lahore at her most gracious hosting.

We listened to the founder’s Zahra Paracha & Natasha’s Noorani’sb hilariously inspiring story of how they started LMM in their interview for Properganda, a digital media platform. They talked about their Acha sa dhooka, the Lahore Music Meet. Their energetic team of college goers and volunteers. About how arranging a public concert has always been a challenge with bomb scares and security issues and how they have learned on the job, to manage the logistics, media, marketing, sponsors and event management.

Their approach to unruly behavior and a policy of first come first serve. Dealing with the privilege and entitlement problem as everyone has a right to be in the room.  They called it a grand Shaadi and Valima where everyone comes, but no one is happy! Instead of pyar dain it is everything was fine pur, khanna acha nahi tha! I loved that the girls didn’t self-censor. They are funny professional, strong, productive, smart, educated and beautiful. From Zahra’s passion of music and trying to raise money to get a guitar. The lack of support she initially faced from her family, she dealt with by saying Ajazaat say behar hai maufi maang lain!  Natasha is a fantastic singer and musician along with being an LMM creator. When quizzed about why she repeatedly wears her green shalwar kameez with red roses in every press pics she calmly replied, Don’t libas shame her. It  has pockets!

Hania, Aezaz & Natasha 

According to the girls the LMM journey from the 1st-5th was full of learning, overwhelming and massively different. From the big idea of two 22 and 23 year olds with the Duniya humari hai energy, to direct face booking to the inboxes of Hania and Gumby to play. The girls started small and humble with the decor not being a priority.  It has obviously been a slow labor of love and filled with the goodness of their hearts. Sponsors have slowly evolved from personal loans and Millat Tractors to Pepsi and others. Lotus has been their PR firm from the start. The philosophy of LMM is all about it’s about community building and social integration. From the artists to the audience it’s about mixing people of all age groups, generations, genres and classes. It was wonderful to witness that first hand and a pleasure to see Natasha’s Nani enjoying the day as much as children of all ages. 

LMM is not a standard about who should be heard or which city is right. They have no repeat artists, same acts, headliners or ten best. They put thought into talent curation and make unexpected choices of getting local bands to open for awami stars like Atta Ullah and Naseebo Lal, Tak a Tak for Fareed Aezaz Qawal. The idea is the proud promotion of Pakistani Music across all genres.

My ten year old son, Raayid and daughter, Raaya loved the humor and friendship of the duo that had us all cracking with their jokes and chemistry.

My husband went to check sessions with Fasi Zaka and Zeeshan Parvez of “On the Fringe” fame. We got to see new acts at Re Arts like the release of the brilliant album Suno by Bayaan and a release of the Pazeerish single, the new track of Sitarist Rakae Jamil of the fantastic fusion band, Mughal-e-Funk.

We were also trilled to see our favorite Haniya perform live with the very cool Natasha Ejaz and the brilliant vocalist, Mohammad Aezaz signing a Bengali track based on the poetry of Rabindranath Tagore that had us riveted.

There were also amazing stalls for shopping. From the cool totes, t shirts and art, cards by Haris Hidayat Ullah to Pind my new favorite company after Nine Lines, by a group of friends with the coolest toungue in cheek pins, earrings of Pakola, Top Pops, Musafir Huon in packaged in a neat psychedelic matchbox!  I bought a fantastic Aurat Raj T-shirt.  Stalls selling band memorabilia, graphic hoodies  and even fusion denim jackets. My daughter also indulged at Prisms and Paintbrushes who do graphic pins, stationary, totes and laptop bags. Basically I became kangaal in a matter of hours. I can never resist making new friends and encouraging exciting, new entrepreneurs!

I was also approached by the team of Rizq- a social enterprise that works to end hunger through food sharing. You can donate Daigs for Rs 7000 and a house’s monthly ration donation in just Rs. 3000.  They also do rizq school lunch for underprivileged school kids and rizq bacho, for giving away food that we waste. I love giving whatever I can to those who do it with sincerity and found their team to be extremely humble and well informed. 

I didn’t use the All Access Pass on Day 2 despite my children’s insistence and fighting over it. How do u split one pass between two siblings?! Instead I saved it for my fitness father, Sir James, whose family was to join us. Sadly they never came. 
In the end I was sitting in a chowkri on the floor when a friend arrived and lamented that she couldn’t get a pass to the Pepsi Hall where Naseebo Lal was playing. I pulled out the pass and handed it out. It’s always good to share the best of what the universe has blessed you! Till next year LMM! Promise I’ll be on time! :)