Why is he still beating home

Walk at the Zia Mohyeddin Theater at the Night Festival and you will see it: a full house, the shaking heads, the phones hidden, the ears tuned in.

From Mehak Rashid’s Soulful Khayal to Ustad Mumtaz Ali Sabzal combining Baloch peoples with classic ragas, performances were not only music, it was lessons for how a tradition is still found to find new ways to stay alive.

So what does the public hold, many of whom are young, returning to a form that is often rejected as “very serious” or “very specialized”?

“Classical music is our strongest connection to who we are and where we come from,” says Sharif Awan, founder of the Tehzeeb Foundation. “Without it. It is impossible to imagine the future.”

Ethnomusicologist Arsalan Pareyal puts it simply: “It’s in our DNA.

For Niloy Ahsan Zulkernaeen, a musician Dhruppad he performed at the festival, the appeal runs even deeper: “Classical music cultivates compassion, empathy, self-reliance, gives clarity and balance in a noisy world, this is rare.”

Old roots, new energy

Classical music here goes back a thousand years. Mughal’s courts created Gharanas, music schools that created separate identities through protection. While culture has faded, music has continued to evolve.

Get khayal, for example. As soon as a Dhruppad branch (initially worship) grew up in a freer, more improvisational style that even influenced movie songs and ghazals. Or Dhruppad’s Alap section, a careless, no word exploration of a raag that still feels radical in its simplicity.

“Western musicians are moving towards our traditions,” says Sharif. “Eastern music will shape the future.” Niloy agrees, noting how Dhruppad finds new listeners abroad.

More than nostalgia

The Tehzeeb festival itself, which has been running since 2009, is part of a wider wave. From the All Pakistan Music Conference to the upcoming World Culture Festival, classical music carries the space in a quick, pop-guided city.

And maybe this is the secret: in Karachi’s chaos, this music offers something rare: a pause, a connection, a reminder that not all meaning is fast, fancy or trend.

Note: Report was supplemented by AI processing for clarity and brevity