Lok Virsa folk treasure goes digital
Entertainment
The archives are now available on YouTube and the Lok Virsa website, too
(Web Desk) - Lok Virsa, which was formerly known as National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage, has digitised its musical archives, enabling music lovers globally to enjoy some amazing recordings of Pakistani legends.
The head of the Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Unit, Salman Sufi, announced this on X (formerly Twitter).
The archives are now available on YouTube and the Lok Virsa website, too.
Releasing his video message, Sufi said music was the soul of a society and Pakistani artists had created a magical world of screen tunes given the world so much to celebrate.
“We welcome you to experience the archives of Lok Virsa, an entity that had the opportunity to provide a platform to artists from 1970 to now,” he said. “We have uploaded original recordings of our artists that were only available on VHS and in analogue form.”
This is the first time Pakistan’s folk treasure is being presented to the world on these platforms, he added.
The Lok Virsa archives available online include recordings of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi, Ghulam Ali, Iqbal Bano, Mansoor Malangi, Tufail Niazi, Farida Khanum, Pathany Khan and Ustad Salamat Ali.
According to Sufi, over 50,000 songs, videos and behind-the-scenes footages will be uploaded gradually. “This project will make our music available to worldwide audience and ensure it's copyrighted. Our artists have given the world some phenomenal music. [It’s] time to make it available to everyone.”
