Atif Aslam Rocks Boston
By Tahir Ali
Boston: The concert hall in Lynn was jampacked and the roaring audience had the auditorium lit up with their smart phones as Atif Aslam came on the stage and engaged the audience for over 3 memorable hours. He sang all the favorites and completely mesmerized the crowd.
Atif kept the audience fully engaged and gave such a sterling performance that the attendees really got their money’s worth. The reluctant organizer informed me earlier that he will be accompanying Atif Aslam on this musical tour and seeing the crowd enjoy so profusely made him feel he did the right thing. "I am so pleased, especially to see people from the subcontinent enjoying and dancing to the same tune which proves that music really knows no borders".
Atif Aslam, a household name in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, proved that to be right as well; when the organizers asked the audience to raise their hands if they were from these countries. Atif, in his own unique style, has made fans all over the world.
The show ended with Taj-Dare-Haram which got the crowd on their feet when he chanted "Aao Madina Chalo." He sang his signature songs such as Aadat, Bin Tere and also paid tributes to Lata Mangeshkar and Geeta Dutt. The audience sang along with him when he sang, "Jab Koi Baat Bigar Jay ... Tum Dena Mera Sath O Hum Nava", as well as many Indian and Pakistani renditions.
Some of the remarks and comments from those who attended sum up the audience mood rather nicely. Rohith Naidu told me, "It was a great show. I am a fan of his. His entrance was good, people came from four countries - based upon the response from the audience when polled.”
Shehla Gul and her daughter Anosha Khan said that Madina Chalo left the audience in a trance. Her friends from Bangladesh - Tahira Ahmed Mitu and Maroof Ahmed - added that the solo numbers Atif played with his guitar were good. His tributes to Geeta Dutt and Lata were heartwarming, to say the least. Shehla of PAGB helped the organizers quite a bit and she also helped me set up the interviews.
Kaleem Abdullah remarked, "Atif has a big fan base - the good thing that I can say is that the program started on time. He was so full of energy that kept on going for 3 hours, non-stop. Wow, what a stamina!"
Faiqa was visibly enchanted. "He kept the crowd totally engaged, everybody was singing along. I found him very humble and thankful. At least he said that four times as I heard. Naat at the end, a tear jerker, was very touching."
Shantanu Mishra and Shanti Ji readily agreed. "We paid about $500.00 but it was all worth it. We posed with him for a photo. That photo is going on our mantel piece."
Saqib, Ambreen and Bushra Khalid enjoyed the diversity - listening live was a different experience altogether. Mohammad Khalid felt a huge improvement in Atif’s stage appearance compared to his 2017 performance which he happened to see.
Paying tributes to Lata and Mehdi Hasan was nice of him, as he rendered some of their signature songs.
Let me add that it was a thrilling experience and I confessed to Atif that I have been here in the US since 1974 and had not heard of him until I visited Karachi in 1996. I heard my wife Labiba's nephew Baber sing 'Tere Bin’. I knew then that Atif Aslam will climb the ranks rapidly. I thanked Atif for paying tributes to Lata and Mehdi Hassan. I mentioned that in the next few weeks, June 17, 2022, I will be organizing an event ‘Musical Tribute to the Legends: Lata, Dilip Kumar and Noor Jahan’ and I have invited my younger brother, his namesake, Aslam Ali from Canada to sing live. "I know you are going on a musical tour around the world, but you are welcome to attend", I said light-heartedly, and we both laughed.
To sum up, Atif is not only great singer but truly an adorable, down-to-earth, nice person.
