Born in 1947, Farida Mahwash is considered Afghanistan’s greatest contemporary woman singer. Her exceptional voice and classical training has brought her the country’s ultimate title of “ustad”, or master musician. Despite her forced exile in the United States, Mahwash has prolonged a long and rich career as the permanent guest of the Radio Kabul Ensemble.[*]
By: Daniel Brown
No one denies the soothing role music has played during these decades of bloodshed and war this country has known. The latest illustration is in the remarkable book by Afghan exile Khaled Hosseini, “The Kite Runner”. The rivetting story of friendship and exile is accompanied by musical references to martyrs of the nation’s tragedy, such as singer Ahmad Zahir. Written from his adopted home of California, Hosseini describes the enduring link with his homeland with a wedding song called “ahesta boro”:
“Make morning into a key and throw it into the well
Go slowly, my lovely moon, go slowly.
Let the morning sun forget to rise in the east,
Go slowly, my lovely moon, go slowly.”
Fellow artist and Californian exile Farida Mahwash has had many occasions to sing this verse both at home and abroad. She was born into a highly respectable Kabul family and started working at Radio Afghanistan as a secretary. But her vocal talents were discovered by the radio’s director of music who propelled her into a professional singing career that made her Afghanistan’s most popular woman vocalist. Another key figure in Mahwash’s early career was Ustad Mohammed Hashem. The master tabla player guided his young protégée through the first steps of this male-dominated profession. He composed one of her greatest successes “O bacheb” (Oh boy). It combines several tunes into one extended song cycle that pays homage to the diversity of Afghanistan’s regional styles.
Hashem also instilled the rigours of classical Indian singing into Mahwash’s repertoire. The richness of her singing led to the government elevating her to “Ustad” in 1977, an honorific title normally reserved for men. However, the Taraki coup a year later cut short this golden era in Afghan music and severely truncated Mahwash’s career. In 1991, she lost her brother-in-law in the violence and was forced to flee, first to Pakistan and then to the United States.
Shortly after, Mahwash re-united with Asif, Yusef and Arif Hashem. The three brothers of her teacher Mohammed recreated the exceptional tabla accompaniment for Mahwash to sing the songs from her glory days. At the same time, her friend Hossein Arman invited her to join the Radio Kabul Ensemble. This was composed of fellow-refugees and it opened the doors to countless concerts and the award-winning 2003 album “Radio Kaboul”, on the Accords Croisés label.
At 58 years old, Mahwash still has a glittering career ahead of her. Her powerful and reedy vocal range has been awarded a “Golden voice” prize in Europe, as well as the coveted “Janis Joplin” trophy. In November 2005 she embarked on a month-long US tour with a new repertoire intitled “Afghan Ghazal”.[*]
