Ghazala Javed غزاله جاوید

I saw Ghazala Javed غزاله جاوید in concert a little over a year ago and she held the stage with a real presence - combining talent, beauty and grace. The news, therefore, of her death stuns me all the more.

Ghazala's death has generated world-wide media interest and various sources have reported the events of her death (alongside her father) as a domestic 'honour' killing, rather than an act traced to the Taliban in Pakistan's restive north. Ghazala's popularity stemmed Pakistan, Afghanistan, the UAE and across the Pashtoon diaspora. Coming at a young age, her death puts her alongside the many media icons whom I have periodically honoured for being forever known for their youth, beauty and voice.

Inalillahi wa ina illahi rajioun. Of course, the many unnamed people across the world who are killed and injured daily in various acts of violence are not forgotten and I hold a thought for each and all. From Allah we came and to Allah we return. May she rest in peace.

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Smoke and Mirrors

Smoke, Mirrors  ...

November the 5th. Bonfire. Guy Fawkes. The tendency is to understand these as synonymous. The popular version of the story, beginning with a failed assassination attempt (led by Robert Catesby and supported by Guy Fawkes) is one that has familiarity, but there's something more that needs a little thought.

Bonfires (historically, the Celtic 'bone fire') stemmed from the traditions of burning waste after the autumn harvest and marked an annual pre-winter rite of passage. The contemporary version was reinforced by the Thanksgiving Act 1605 (also known as the Observance of 5th November Act) and ties in with infamous Gunpowder Plot. Look a little deeper at this and then this date is not just about the saving of King James I. It becomes the macabre 'celebration' of the death of a man who was hung, drawn and quartered following a trial for high treason.

And there is perhaps another rather ambiguous aspect to all this that might get overlooked. Is November 5th a celebration of victory over terrorism or the celebration of the terrorist himself? The popular media and the average Brit probably don't pay much thought to this possibility and are quite willing to live with a slightly over-romanticised idea of toffee apples and fireworks. But just a thought - imagine a similar date set aside for Osama bin Laden.

... and Vendetta

The transformation of rebel to iconic hero is where Guy Fawkes' legacy now lies. During the recent anti capitalist protests, the image of Guy Fawkes, like the one worn as a mask by the unnamed protagonist in the film V for Vendetta, took on a contemporary symbol of resistance. Turns out that Guido Fawkes, the great anti-government rebel, would-be assassin and terrorist, wins after all.

Oh, and my favourite quote from the film? 

"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." 

Perfect.

Bakht Zamina - بخت زمينه

There is something incredibly iconic about media personalities who die young - James Dean, Che Guevara, Princess Diana, Madhubala - their images frozen in youth forever. 

Bakht Zamina, بخت زمينه, is amongst those iconic names and was caught up in the conflicts between Soviet loyalists and the resistance at the start of the Afghan troubles beginning in the seventies. Her loyalties to the resistance and her songs of support meant that she ultimately paid with her life.

In perhaps, one of the clearest surviving recordings in the public sphere, she performs Akhtar De Mazedara. One for a glimpse into what was certainly a beautiful past.

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Ahmad Zahir - احمد ظاهر

The King is Dead ... Long Live the King

Ahmad Zahir represented many things in 1970s Afghanistan - aristocratic, carefree abandon; politics and revolution. He had a brief career in education and journalism before switching attention to singing. His music was mostly based on Western instrumentation, his personal style was highly Persianised, modelled on Elvis Presley and like Presley himself, Ahmad Zahir was dead by the end of 70s. His killing on 14 June 1979 is surrounded by speculation - caught up in the revolution, surrounded by personal strife - he was dead, aged 33 on his birthday and the day that his daughter was born.

In this clip, edited using Windows Live Movie Maker, we return to Ahmad Zahir's Laghmani Pashtoon roots in a slightly rarer Pashto-language recording. The song, Oba Darta Rawram, (I'll Bring You Water) with it's Santana-esque flavour, is dedicated to his memory.

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Sharbat Gula - شربت ګله - Afghan Girl

... a modern icon of innocence ... 

Some captured images work their way into our deep consciousness and the photograph of the Afghan Girl is one that we all know. We've seen it; we've been stirred by it; we recognise it; it's there. A bit like Che Guevara or Monroe. Even when we don't know it, we know it. For me, that makes the image of Sharbat Gula something of a modern icon - appearing in magazines, posters, TV, the Internet, (and though copyrighted) very much in the public domain.

Rather paradoxically we say modern icon, for the 'Afghan Girl' leads a very traditional Pashtoon life, and knew nothing of her 17 years as a public figure, where her image adorned photo-books on coffee tables the world over. Sharbat Gula (شربت ګله, Rose Sherbet) was forced to leave her home in Afghanistan during the Soviet War for a refugee camp in Pakistan where she was photographed by journalist Steve McCurry. The image was featured on the June 1984 cover of National Geographic Magazine, at a time when she was approximately 13 years old. Gula was known throughout the world simply as the Afghan Girl until she was formally identified in early 2002.

Who in fact 'owns' the public image and whether a 'copyright' and the profit arising from it should belong to the photographer, continues to generate debate. For the 'Afghan Girl' fame and image are largely immaterial. Sharbat Gula represents the heart and soul; the complex acceptance of what is Afghanistan - she was married in her early teens and in her maturity, she follows a traditional code and has a life of few luxuries; she wears a burka outside the house before strangers and speaks of peace under the Taleban.

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