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Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Jawad Ahmad, my inspiration.

Jawad Ahmad

There are people in your life who inspire you a lot, people who change the way you look at things and change the way you yourself are, for me Jawad Ahmad is one of those personalities. Everything about him inspires me. Be it his music, his social work, him as a human being or all his struggle for a classless society. I can proudly say that I look up to him whenever I need some advice, am confused about something, need to motivate myself for something, whenever I am sad, whenever I miss Pakistan, whenever there is an important Cricket match or when we lose a match, Jawad Ahmad is there.

Oh and also just to add an already known fact, he is one of the best singers Pakistan has ever produced.

He was born on 29th September 1970 in Faisalabad to parents who were both professors. (His mother passed away in 2008-09) belonging to a family where studies were of utmost importance it showed in his life as he went on to become a Mechanical Engineer from one of the top Universities of Pakistan, UET Lahore. He also was the captain of cricket team and part of several societies including the music and literary society which later on became the basis of him choosing music as a career field instead of engineering.  He joined the local music band Jupiter which gave Pakistan several famous singers, and started performing at different local concerts.

Interesting thing about him is that he took no formal education regarding music, still he is able to sing so well, especially when it comes to live singing he is way above others. He also writes most of his songs himself and his song lyrics tell how good the thinking is. His favorite singers include Mehdi Hasan, Noor Jehan, Ustad Nustat Fateh Ali Khan, Asha Bhosle, Kishor Kumar, Eagles, Elvis Presley, Mohammad Rafi, Micheal Jackson and Pink Flyod.

My first music memory of Jawad Ahmad was back in early 2000's probably when the song ' Oh kehndi ae sayaan main teri aan " playing on the TV everyday and everyone at home listening to it over and over again, occasionally saying what a different song it is. "Allah meray dil k andar" was always on TV as well and I remember someone saying he has a beautiful voice and as a kid it just stuck in my mind.

Then came the song 'Bin tere kya hai jeena' my all time favorite. I am pretty sure anyone with a good music sense will agree that this song is one of the best ever. I used to sing it a lot as a kid, I still do most of the days and it never gets old. First song I listen to whenever I open my playlist and it was the song that made me realize that Jawad Ahmad is my favorite singer.

Living in his neighborhood was perhaps the best thing ever, as a kid with my cousins we used to visit his place, knowing he is an extremely famous singer. Clearly remember when we used to visit we were usually told that he is out of city because of a concert and that we should come and meet him later. Then one day it finally happened, we went to his place with our uncle and sitting in the front lawn with him, not knowing what to talk just excited that we were with such a famous personality is still a fresh memory.

Later on it became a formality.

Jawad Ahmad was always told he had a good voice but his first aim was to change the world and work towards a classless society and to reach his aim he used the power of music. The reason he started singing professionally was due to the fact that he wanted his voice to be heard at a bigger level so he can achieve what he plans in life. His philosophy always being what you dream, pray and think the key is to materialize it.

The first Music Album ' Bol tujhe kya chahye ' was the best example of it, a good mixture of everything. Some Punjabi songs, slow romantic songs, fast paced bhangra songs, but most importantly his songs about humans, their life and dependence on God are the worth listening. There are so many songs from that album which literally made me think so much about life. This album helped him establish as one of the top singers of Pakistan.


Next time I went to Pakistan everyone was talking about ' Uchayan Majajan Wali' song and perhaps it changed the trend of music in Pakistan. Our music industry was in full flow, I remember buying my first ever audio cassette back then, with Jawad Ahmad on it in red shirt. Few days later I bought his previous album as well and both these albums felt like a precious possession. No body liked me playing the songs all day, over and over again but I just wouldn't care.

Couple of years passed and his third album was released, by now he was one of the most famous singers in Pakistan. His previous album sold around 4 million cassettes breaking the record of most albums sold in Pakistan at that time. ' Jind Jan Sohinye ' was the Album's name, with Jawad Ahmad in black shirt on it, still remember how happy I was rushing back home with the CD in my hand.

Inspired by Aligarh Movement of Sir Syed, Jawad Ahmad started Taleem for All trust, opening 10 schools for kids in the most backward areas of Pakistan and inspired by his work, it is my aim to open schools for kids someday when Allah will make me capable enough.

The sensitivity and simplicity that he asserts through his music is not limited to the values that his songs reminisce and hope to enliven. His vision materializes through the impressive community service that he is involved in. He was appointed by the Ministry of Health and the UNICEF as the ambassador of Pakistan for the eradication of Polio sung a song "Khushi Ho Teray Cahar So". British Council Beyond Borders project, awareness regarding the dangers of drug addiction. In this regard, he has used his talent to produce a song called "Tum abhi to aa kar"' accompanied by a video to portray the social impact on an individual of drug intake. He sung another social awareness song "Taaleem Sub Kay Liey" for his organization Taleem for All. He hopes to present the nuanced aspect of life in order to motivate people to realize their stakes. Also his song " Chalo Bacho Uthao Basta " which is part of his campaign to promote education in Pakistan. Latest of his songs include ' Mera haq mujhe do ' for his organization International Youth and Workers Movement, which motivates people to stand for their own rights.

I remember during one of the music tours for his Taleem for All Trust, I attended one at my school and took around 300 pictures and then lost my camera such a sad feeling it was, the concert ticket is still with me though and it fees like some sort of compensation.

Aside from his albums he has also produced the music of some movies like Moosa Khan, Main Ik din Laut k Aaon Ga and also produced the movie ' Virsa ' an Indo-Pak venture that has the beautiful song ' Main Tenu Samjhawan ki ' which actually is Jawad Ahmad's song sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

His next album took way too long because of the situation of Pakistan and his changing aims. Rise for Pakistan was the first campaign which later on turned into International Youth and Workers Movement, which organizes the working class and fights of their rights and I am a proud part of this organization.

All this showed in his music as well, the next album was named Love and Revolution and most of the songs concern middle class and rights of humans. Also the type of 'concerts' if you want to call them, he does, is him visiting different towns and villages, promoting his campaign and also creating awareness among the working class to stand for their rights. His songs ' Tera na Mera hai sab kuch khuda ka hai ' and ' sun lo k ham mazdoor hain ' have left a lasting impression on me and I am sure they will change lives of many others.

Back in the days when I was really clueless about my life and what I wanted to achieve, finally had the chance to meet him properly, talk to him for long. It was amazing how well he guided me, that how we should conduct ourselves and make our life an example for others and how we should believe in and promote equality.

This can go on and on and I already had to miss so many things because of the length of this blog post but in simple words, from all his 82 songs I have in my playlist , for all the times I need some motivation, for all the time I want love Pakistan more than I already do, for the person I am today, for this blog and my tries to do something positive in life, I owe it all to Jawad Ahmad, it has been a pleasure following and knowing him over these years. 

2 comments:

  1. Jawad Ahmad was born on 29th september 1970 in Faisalabad.

    ReplyDelete
  2. His mother passed away in 7 Feb 2008.

    ReplyDelete

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