All the rage
Rebecca Conway
A career in rock ’n’ roll might not be a conventional – or easy – choice for young Pakistanis, but despite the militant insurgency and social difficulties, aspiring musicians are finding ways to keep an alternative music scene alive.
Even with accelerating Taliban violence, Pakistan’s underground music-makers are rocking on.
“Our students have started forming bands; the youngest group consists of three seven-year-old boys. All play astonishingly well, and are fast improving every day”, says Abid Khan, one of the founders and teachers of Lahore’s Guitar School, which opened recently on the back of growing interest in contemporary music, stimulated by satellite television and the increasingly free and diverse broadcast media.