Meet the collector, preserver of Pakistan’s national songs

National songs play a vital role in nation’s unity and patriotism. While it can be a tool to revive the nationalism in the country, it also provides emotional strength to the people against the enemy.

No one can deny the role of poets especially ‘The Poet of the East’ in our movement of independence whose poetry not only did give life to a defeated nation but also, gave us the courage to stand against the mighty enemy.

Just like the 65 war, when national broadcasting media inspired the whole nation with national songs. Not only had those national songs united the nation, it boosted the morale of soldiers fighting on the frontline. In spite of a full-scale war, the morale of the whole nation remained high during the course of the war.

The fact of the matter is, poets and artists have always played a momentous role in uniting the divided nation on such occasions.

“Pakistan is the country that produces the most national songs in the world.” Many might be hearing this fact for the first time. But we have been told this by Absar Ahmed who is the sole collector of Pakistan’s national songs.

‘How did you do it?’ was the first question we asked Absar Ahmed of Karachi upon meeting him. His one-word reply was; Passion.

To a MM News’s question about how he developed this passion for collecting national anthems. The biggest collector of national songs in the world said “During 1996 Cricket World Cup, tv played so many songs to cheer Pakistani team, one of the song stuck in my head and I wanted to have the cassette. After saving some pocket money and some help from my mother, I got the cassette. That was the moment when I realized my passion for national songs and decided to collect and preserve them.”

Absar Ahmed further said that more than five thousand national songs have been made in Pakistan in diverse languages, which is a world record. By the grace of Allah, I have recorded and dubbed about four and a half thousand national songs. They have also been preserved in book-form.

In the end, Absar Ahmed said something quite profound; “If God kept 75 years’ national song preserved, why the ideology of Pakistan and the blood of martyrs spilled for it would go waste.

You can see and listen to Absar Ahmed’s charming conversation in our video.