Mohammed Hanif, Pakistani writer and journalist.

“The first time I saw Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan”  is a deeply touching narration by Pakistani writer, Mohammed Hanif of the incident when he first saw NFAK in his village in 1972.  The eight years old Hanif was so moved that he decided his career even before the Party’s  performance ended  ” He wanted to sit behind the large man (Nusrat) , clap, sing and make the audience go wild ” … Did he live his dream ?  The program also takes a very wise take on accusations following the “Global Nusrat” …… A Must Listen..

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Excrepts:-

“The first time I saw Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, he was stuck in the door of a van and I feared that he might never be able to get out. I was eight years old and had never seen a man so enormous. Nusrat was not yet the global music sensation that he would become in a few years but he was already a rock star in my hometown.

“His annual concert meant deserted streets, the whole village pulled an all nighter; even old women who never ventured out, sat on the rooftops and listened.”

Mohammed Hanif is a novelist and journalist now based in Pakistan. Previously head of the BBC’s Urdu section and a contributor to From Our Own Correspondent. His two novels A Case of Exploding Mangoes (2008) and Our Lady of Alice Bhatti (2011) were widely praised and his debut was longlisted for the Man Booker prize.

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