Strings Teams Up with Indian Ocean for Independence Celebration

Image of Strings Recording for BBC

Strings has recorded a ‘jugalbandi’ of sorts with Indian Ocean across the border, for a joint Independence Day programme to be aired on BBC Urdu and Hindi Services.

Faisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsud have performed with Indian Ocean during their frequent trips to India, and were greeted warmly by Sushmit and Rahul who were glad to re-establish contact, even though sitting thousands of miles apart in Karachi and Delhi studios of BBC.

‘A video link is not the same as meeting in person, but it’s a pleasure even to see you guys on screen in real time,’ said Sushmit, while expressing the frustration felt by artistes on both sides of the border for the freezing of cultural exchange since Mumbai terror attacks of last year.

Masud Alam, BBC Urdu Service’s desk editor and the programme host said in his opening remarks that the Independence Day celebrations in both countries connect the two peoples who worked and fought together to earn their freedom. ‘We want to celebrate with both peoples, in the language understood and appreciated by both, which is music,’ he added.

The programme will be aired in two parts on 14th and 15th August on the Urdu Service’s SW/MW platform, while its FM partners in 28 cities will run the hour-long programme on the 14th. It’s web site,bbcurdu.com will stream the video of joint performance starting Friday.

Source: Strings Official Website