“I have no desire to open my mouth and sing. I am the pariah of time;
whether to sing or not.
What is there to sing about a night which is pitch dark.
I wish for the day to break the cage and to pull my head out,
to sing with glee and delight.
I am not a feeble tree to shiver by the blustery
weather. I am an Afghan girl to weep and whine forever.”
This song was sung by Mrs. Shahla Zaland, a popular Afghan singer, in memory of an Afghan girl, Nadia Anjuman. She sang with deep emotion and tearful eyes, reflecting the pain and the suffering of Afghan women. Her melodious voice and burning sentiment could rightly mirror the unluckiness of Afghan women. Her magic touched every listener.
Songs and poems have blazing feelings. They are emotions which are put into words. When poets smolder with strong emotion, bitter feelings, with separation and loneliness or the impact of a tragedy, their words come out in poetry and song. They may portray a sad memory pictured inwardly, and speak against the bitterness of life. Such touching stories and emotive feelings are the themes of our songs and verse.
Music and poetry reflect the culture and folklore of a society. This is seen in our national rhythm, compatriotic song, traditional songs, which emerge from classical literature, epics and heroic poems. Songs and music mirror history, values, norms and the mentality of a society. When folklore and cultural ceremonies are celebrated with songs and music, it is to demonstrate the tradition and customs of a society. Music is a significant part of our changeless culture.
Some find solace in music and feed their spirit with its rhythm and beat. Whenever they feel sad or lonely, they alleviate their sorrow and sadness by listening to music. Others just enjoy traveling mentally with music in romantic and utopian cities with their beloved friends. They imagine love in a dream world and then sigh with relief and relaxation. It is believed that listening to melody at leisure time is a form of relaxation. However, overloading the mind with music will, certainly have deleterious effect. For example, if one eats too much, their stomach cannot hold everything .The same is the case with the mind and spirit. If we overload our mind with music, it will lead to disorder and an abnormally functioning mind. So, it is better not to listen to music in due moderation.
On the other hand, music is a reminder of a tragedy or sad memory for some listeners. They listen to music to picture the bitter moment of their life. They may listen to sad music which fills them with strong emotions or move them to tears. Disappointed lovers find solace in music. This may even compound one’s sorrow. In my point of view, in such cases music kills their hope and aggravates the wounds of their hearts.
I emphasize again that music is the reflection of heroism, valor, history and culture of a society; however, it is a great misfortune that our music taste is today, affected seriously by Western music. Our singers have abandoned their national styles and taken on the fashion of Western music. It is a mere artless imitation of a foreign style. They are the people who have lost their own culture, with a poor idea of their own history.
Are we pretending to be modern by adopting Western musical styles?
The Media is one of the challenges which steps over the moral standards and cultural values of the country by broadcasting immoral programs. In other words, most of the time they broadcast music and dancing which are conducted by the actresses who are entirely alienated from religious and moral values. The singers and dancers perform in the media with frenzy. And our younger generation also copies them. This hardly reflects the cultural values of the country. There is no doubt that this trend threatens the morality and religious beliefs of our youth. The media is to blame.
In addition, some of our youth cross the line of freedom and play music in public places such as on the way to school or work, in buses, etc. without any headphones. Moreover, some hotels or CD-selling shops also play music very loudly. Such acts are in direct contrast with moral values and cultural norms. For example, when the male passersby play music, they do not care about females or some even turn the volume up when approaching females. It is feared that it will be changed to street abuse. Hence, this action disturbs people and should be stopped as soon as possible. High decibel music is an environmental damage to the human mind.
Some satiate the thirst of their soul through listening to religious music and are energized with the melodious song. They touch the holiness of the song with their whole hearts and minds and find a real solace in it. Moreover, their minds are used to the holiness of the religious song that is why they cool down by listening to this type of song. Mostly, those who listen to religious song will also cherish a religious hero in their hearts and the morality and personality of their heroes. Hence, listening to religious songs which revive religious values is worthwhile.
The poems which are sung will have to be suitable or at least in accordance with the moral norms of a society. The singers should be careful that they are supposed to reflect the culture and folklore of their countries. Unfortunately, in our society there are some who sing whatever they will and just to amuse some youth. It is believed that they spoil the morality of our youth rather than benefiting them. It is hoped that our music will be used to reflect our culture rightly and for making business or spoiling our youth.