Serenading the Swiss

The hills are alive with the music of Ali Zafar. The singer recently performed at a Pak Swiss cultural show in Switzerland to highlight the music of Pakistan and gathering donations for rehabilitating refugees from the northern region.

How did the singer find the experience? "I'm thinking what other words to use, because "amazing", "splendid" and "out of this world" have been used to death. Well, it was all these nice words mixed together!" The singer went on to elaborate the experience further, "I was having so much fun singing that I didn't realize that it'd been over 2 and a half hours to our live set and I ended up singing songs which I might've never sung on stage before just because someone from the crowd would pop and scream a song and I would try to incorporate that into our set from the top of my head. I sang all my popular songs. I sang "Dekha" twice because we had a very nice flamenco dance group dancing to it and the people wanted to see them some more. For "Sajania" we had a group of chorus girls who sang the chorus parts . So all in all, the musical on stage experience was a distinct one for me."

Ali went on to explain that the event had prestigious organizers, "The event was organized by Swiss Pakistan Society which is also affiliated with the Pakistan Women's Association of Geneva, together with the Pakistani Embassy in Berne."

And why was the event organized in the first place? "The reason to organize this event was to highlight the musical activity for the Pakistani families settled in Switzerland. It would especially give the younger generation understanding and familiarity with the current music scene. It would do the same for the local Swiss, providing them with a different view than the normal western perspective."

All the proceeds from the show will be donated and be used for rehabilitation program in northern areas of Pakistan. The Swiss Pakistan Society is a non-political and non-denominational organisation of Pakistani nationals living in Switzerland, and their Swiss friends. The society aims to develop the existing cordial relationship between Pakistan and Switzerland through cultural exchange and assisting in commercial exchanges. The Ambassador of Pakistan, Mrs. Ayesha Riyaz, in Berne is the Patron of the Society and a former Swiss Ambassador to Pakistan, Mr. Thomas Wernly, is its President.

The event was held on 16^th of May, at the Theatre du Leman, Salle du Grand Casino Kempinski Hotel, Geneva, Switzerland and also featured a fashion show by Nickie and Nina, with choreography by Asim Yar Tiwana.

After the show, Ali found time to celebrate his birthday, not once, but thrice. "My birthday was a memorable one . It was celebrated thrice and I had to bite on three different cakes on three different dinner. A few friends also drove me to France to a beautiful lake and dinner . It was very sweet of everyone."

As for future performances, after dazzling audiences in Switzerland Ali now has his sights firmly set on travelling around the world. "We're touring the United States followed by a world tour. It's under planning at the moment."