Noori (Where art and music meet)

I was 11 years old, in Grade 6, when I first heard their music. Their debut album 'Suno Ke Main Hoon Jawan' (Listen to me; I am young) was released, and some of their unreleased music had gone viral on the internet. This was the year 2003, and Ali Noor, Ali Hamza, Gumby and Jafry had taken the nation of Pakistan by storm. A group of pre-teen girls became their biggest fans, and for the next 17 years, spent time listening to their music, attending their concerts and album launches, living through the changing eras of the autograph age to the selfie age, and engaging with them in the age of social media by sharing their music and commenting on their live videos.

Those girls were myself and my close friends, Heba and Zehra.

I was always creatively inclined, and I expressed my love for them by drawing them everywhere I possibly could. My first sketch of them was on my bathroom wall at age 12, but I made sure their eyes were diverted away (lol!). I then drew them on my bedroom wall a few months later, drew them on paper and got it signed through a mutual friend (which became my birthday invitation), drew a comic strip about a story based on them, wrote a play based on them (which Ali Noor and Ali Hamza viewed in person when they attended my best friend's birthday in 2003), made a painting of them in 2010 (which they included in their Vlog), and finally drew them on the wall of my alma mater, Indus Valley School (where I did my BFA) in 2011.

Fast forward to 2020. Noori as a 4-member band disintegrated years ago, but the brothers Ali Noor and Ali Hamza continued to sustain the band. They simultaneously appeared on the critically acclaimed Coke Studio Pakistan with amazing tracks, both collectively and individually.

2017 saw Ali Hamza, the younger of the two brothers, embarking on a career as a solo artist. He is the brother who remembered me throughout the years as the 'artist' whenever I would fan-girl at him at concerts, gigs, or album launches. He would always give me a shout-out on his live sessions saying he was a 'fan' of my art. That would really make my day.

Which is why I was more than elated when I read a message from him on Instagram a few days ago, saying he would love for me to create a piece for his studio. Can you imagine how excited I was when I saw him contact me for my art! In these strange Covid times, the ensuing exchange of messages (I still can't believe it) and a video call with his wife (which ended with an audio call with him as well) have become a beacon of hope and happiness for me. I love his 'art', and he has asked for mine.

The images you see above and below are 'mood-board' images for the painting I will be making for him on a desi Rupee note (in keeping with his preferences). These images of him begin during his baby-hood, to his university, to the beginning of Noori, to many years of the band when they were together, and on to his solo ventures. This piece will be displayed in his studio, where he holds his live music sessions that are shared on Instagram and Facebook.

I am incredibly grateful. In the next few posts I may share process-images of the piece I am making for him, as well as images of drawings I have made of Noori in the past. Many of them are sadly lost (they existed in the days of film-cameras), but some are still there.