Tahir Abbas's 'Gali De Bachay' to move you to tears
Tahir Abbas hopes to compose more songs like "Gali De Bachay" in the near future.
(WebDesk) - It is safe to say that Pakistan’s music industry is going through a cult revolution with new faces being introduced onto the scenario on a regular basis. Alas, Pakistan is finally moving forward from glorifying a handful of its famous singers. Underground bands and solo musicians that have cleverly used the social media as a platform to promote their compositions have been an integral part of this revolution. Other than that, platforms like Coke Studio and the much-awaited revival of competitions like the Pepsi Battle of the Bands have collectively contributed to the surfacing of the to-be-superstars on television.
Music is not only a source of bread and butter for these musicians; in fact, it is all they really have. Musicians are extremely dedicated in producing good quality unique songs that eventually become part of their identity. Whilst some compose music for the purpose of sheer pleasure, others use music as a platform to address issues and get their message across in a highly effective manner.
One such individual who has used social media to the best of its abilities in order to voice his opinion much effectively, is Tahir Abbas. Born in Luddan, a small town in district Vehari, the 24-year-old recently released an enthralling music video “Galli De Bachay” that narrates a story of the struggles from the lives of street children that reside all across Pakistan. Tahir composed and sang the Punjabi song himself to highlight the issues faced by the kids whilst the members of the elite sit in their homes, comfortable and carefree.
Singer Tahir Abbas recently released “Gali De Bachay” on YouTube. Photo: Song Poster
The music video looks into the lives of children that are forced to live on streets. Photo: Music Video
What we see in the six-minute long video is extremely emotional and truly depicts the conditions of the children living in the various slums of Pakistan. Regarding the story of "Gali De Bachay", Tahir says: “Tanvir Syed, one of my friends who is a writer and theatre trainer by profession, got a project from Godh, one of the leading NGOs that address the issue of child labor and told me to tag along and help him with it. The project demanded that we interact with street children and gypsies in particular and record their experiences. As an integral part of the project, we recorded a 45-minute long performance that was written and composed by Tanvir himself. Now, "Gali De Bachay" was written as part of the performance. I was chosen to be the lead singer for the project. I remember performing this song in front of the gypsies and the slum children and each time I would perform it, they all would get emotional. When I saw the reaction of the children, I felt that such a powerful song should be engaged to the masses and so, I decided to record the song and release it officially.”
The idea of composing the song was purely out of good will but as Tahir soon found out, financing the production was one hell of a task. “Even though Godh helped me with the finances, the mix and master of the video had some loopholes in it that were difficult to manage financially. After about three months of constant struggle in finding the perfect shots for the music video, I contacted Bilal Mughal, another friend of mine, to help me finalizing the shots. Even though we shot some eye-catching original content, we could not manage to full throttle owing to financial constraints and so, we took a few shots from documentaries and other sources from YouTube and compiled it in the final production. Of course, we have given full credits to where we took the shots from in the video but I really wanted to produce some more content of our own. That, however, wasn’t to be.”
Tahir, who, himself got raised in difficult times, knows how hard it is to grow up in a disturbed environment. In fact, one of the reasons why he wanted to release the song in the first place, was because of the relatability factor. Growing up in a village, Tahir himself had little access to the necessities of life and though he managed to escape to the city life eventually, he can never forget the conditions of his village’s children. “Of course I know the pain of every street child because I, myself, am from a village in interior village which is a backward area as compared to urban cities like Lahore and Islamabad. In the rural areas, parents do not have enough money to afford education for their children. So, to help them with their struggles in life, the parents send their kids to small workshops where they work tirelessly for hours just to earn a few extra rupees. In the process, the future of the children gets depleted since they get too caught up in their work.”
Children that should be going to school are restricted to working on the streets due to lack of funds. Photo: Screenshot from the video released on YouTube
According to Tahir, child labor is eating up our countries future, “Child labor is a grave issue in Pakistan; one that has not ever been properly addressed. I am doing my part in working towards its end and I feel everyone else should contribute in any way they can.”
The singer believes music can be an effective medium to address serious issues. Photo: Patari
Even though Tahir knows there are countless obstacles that lie ahead, he is determined to raise more awareness through his God gifted talent “Currently, it is very difficult to earn money through music and the incredible expenses that arise during production add further to the problem. Having said that, I have complete faith in both the Almighty and my abilities as a performer to make it big and address more issues via music.”
By: Raacikh Asghar and Mehreen Fatima
