North Zone Culture Centre, Patiala, Ministry of Culture, Govt of India is organizing an Evening of Pop Music of Famous Pakistani Rock Band “The Ragaboys” at Gaiety Theatre Shimla, Himachal Pradesh in collaboration with Department of Language, Art & Culture, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh on 16th April, 2014 at 7PM.
Arun Sharma, Director of the Department of Language, Art & Culture, Shimla disclosing this said that this programme is a part of Baishakhi Celebrations in India as the ‘THE RAGABOYS’ have been invited to perform at Jalandhar, Patiala, Chandigarh and Shimla from 13th to 17th April this year. The will be a part of Cultural Exchange programmes of Pakistan & India with a view to maintain cordial relations between two countries, he said.
‘The Ragaboys’ is a group of three Brothers of Pakistan and their concerts belongs to Patiala Gharana. The lineage of Patiala Gharana goes back to Ustad Kaluji (Durbar Gayak of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh), followed by his sons and the greatest singers of that era – Ustad General Ali Baksh and Ustad Badey Fateh Ali Khan. The legacy of this family continued with the descendants and pioneers of modern classical music like Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan, Ustad Akhtar Hussain Khan, and his sons Ustad Amanat Ali Khan, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan and the living legend of Pakistan Ustad Hamid Ali Khan. Raga Boyz are the 9th generation of this esteemed family.
The eldest brother, Nayab Ali, is a classical and semi classical singer. He is known for his mesmerizing voice and soulful renditions of classical and sufi melodies. Wali Hamid Ali is next. He is the lead vocalist of the band. He is a pop and semi classical singer and composer. A marvelous stage performer, he keeps the audience on their feet with his high octane performances. The youngest of the 3 brothers, Inam Ali is a hard core classical singer.
The important of this band is that they compose and perform all genres of music, be it classical, sufi, rock, fusion or metal. In the past six years, the band has performed across the globe in some of the best venues of the world including Wembley Arena (London), Radio City Music Hall (New York), Diamond Harbour (Sidney) and many more. They have done numerous concerts in China and Bangkok In a country like Saudi Arabia, where music is considered a taboo, they have performed thrice in Jeddah, on the request of the royal family They conduct music workshops at Youngstown State University, Ohio every year. In 2012, they made their debut in Bollywood with the promotional track for the movie Maximum titled “Mann Qunto Maula”. The promotional video also featured the band along with actors like Sonu Sood, Nasseeruddin Shah, Neha Dhupia and others. The Ragaboys are also Winner at the Asia Pacific Youth Arts Festival in China, 2008, where they competed with singers from 30 countries.
