Known as a city of musicians and artists, Peshawar has kept alive the centuries-old tradition of drum beating, which is making weddings, birthday parties and other festivals more enchanting and colourful. Despite the mushroom growth of social media and information technology, the dhol players have started roaring business during marriages, birthday parties and other celebrated occasions in Peshawar after the dropping of temperature in KP.
Peshawar has produced legendary musicians and artists of the calibre of Khyal Muhammad, Rafiq Shinwari, Firdus Jamal, Qavi Khan Javed Babar and Yousaf Khan (Dilip Kumar) who ruled in Pakistani and Indian cinemas. Cleaning his dhol with a long white handkerchief, a drum-beater Zulfiqar alias Bhutto (47) often came to Peshawar cantonment where he sat in Fakhar e Alam Road’s square before his services were hired for marriages, birthdays and other festivals, especially on the weekend.
“I had entered into the dhol beating profession after the death of my father 20 years ago and come to Fakhar Alam Road’s green shadi hall square from Changarabad with a hope to earn maximum business on Saturday and Sunday,” Zulfiqar, who cleaned perspirations with handkerchief told APP.—APP
