ISLAMABAD: Prof Dr Mohammad Ali, Vice Chancellor, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad Wednesday said that Prof M. Aslam had elaborately highlighted history and trends of music during the Sultans of Delhi and the Mughal periods in his book.
He was speaking as chief guest at the launching of a book entitled “Salateen-e-Dehli wa Shahaan-e-Mughlia ka Zauq-e-Moseeqi” arranged by the National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research at its premises here.
The VC explored the history and evolution of music in the subcontinent in consonance with the book being launched saying that country’s higher educational institutions must take responsibility to refresh the dying arts like calligraphy, developing music and making innovative musical instruments.
Prof Dr Mohammad Hussain Azad, commenting on the book, said that music and musical instruments were created in South Asia with the descendance of Hazrat Adam (A.S). The universe has been in rhythm since then, he remarked.
Prof Dr Ghulam Shamsur Rehman of Government College University, Faisalabad, speaking online eloquently highlighted salient aspects of the book recommending it for extensive study of all and sundry.
Prof Shahbaz Ali of Government Post-Graduate College, Satellite Town, Rawalpindi, who is a music teacher, informed the audience that the first edition of this book was published in 1992. It has been a hectic effort on the part of Prof Mohammad Aslam that he not only wrote on music but also collected scattered information on music for the benefit of the budding musicians.
Prof Dr Mohammad Idrees, Dean Social Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, in his concluding remarks felt that reading literature was being narrowed down. There is a need to bridge this gap by the educational institutions primarily universities in inculcating reading literature habits. Teachers should motivate their students in getting extensive knowledge, he opined.
Prof Dr Tanvir Anjum, Chairperson, Department of History, Quaid-i-Azam University, being daughter of Mr Mohammad Aslam (late), the author, in her vote of thanks highlighted the importance of music in general and rhythm in particular in our daily lives.
Earlier, in his welcome address, the NIHCR Director Dr Sajid Mahmood Awan said that it has been a legacy of the NIHCR that it has been holding seminars, conferences, seminars as well as webinars on history and culture. The NIHCR research pursuits did not dim even in the agonies of Covid-19 and this book launching is a proof to it, he said.
Dr Rahat Zubair Malik, Senior Research Fellow of the NIHCR moderated the event. Earlier, Mr Khalid Mehmood recited verses from the Holy Quran.