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It
was August 25, 2001 and was considered a warm day by the residence
of Copenhagen. But forthose who came from other countries nearby
and afar, it was just a nice day. The hall was full of eager faces.
It was rumored that approximately 1200 were in attendance. The Afghans
in Denmark have never before witnessed a gathering of this magnitude.
From the stage a man was looking at the eager faces of the audience
that were unable to contain their excitement. He was looking at
them as if through the lens of a camera focused on the crowd. The
faces looked familiar. Does he recognize any one? Is he looking
at a familiar face? It looks like he does recognize them. Yes! He
knows these faces very well. These faces are as clear to him as
water and closer than air. He has seen them before. He has also
seen them in 1989, the year he was chosen as the singer of theyear.
Now he knows why he recognizes these faces, it was August 25, 2001. The hall was not very large,yet the crowd was larger than the hall. It looked like the roof and the walls of the hall were reinforced to contain the power of emotions and applause of that night. It was the night to choose the 2000/2001 best singer/artist of Afghanistan. For more than one year, the Afghan foreigners in the small country of Denmark utilized a lot of effort to choose their favorite musician. This effort was undertaken by Malik Setiz, the anchor for Nidai Watan Radio and Television Program in Copenhagen. Nidai Watan contacted Afghan organizations and Afghan literary figures all over the world. They as well agreed with the choice of the Afghan residents in Denmark. The date to announce this choice was set for August 25, 2001. Aside from the announcers and representatives of the social and cultural societies, Zahir Huwaida, Head of Afghan Artists Union in Europe and one of the well-known and respected names in the Afghan world of music and culture spoke on the topic of this selection. Ms. Maria Korpe Executive Director of "Freemuse", an international society fighting against the music censorship around the globe was a guest speaker and introduced Mr. Darya with a gift from the society. The crowd was wild with excitement, and continuously applauding. From the stage, he was againlooking at the emotional and excited faces of the crowd. That night he heard his name repeated again and again by the speakers, the announcers and the crowd of the people who choose him, Farhad Darya…..Farhad Darya… He wanted to respond to the love that was bestowed upon him by the people. He said, "by honoring me with this title, you have not just appreciated me, but have given respect and appreciation to the music of Afghanistan". I am but just a reason, and then he sang. He sang with passion, it looked as if the emotions and excitement of the crowd was flowing towards the stage and was being incorporated in the music of Darya. The heartbeats of the crowd became his musical rhythm and he kept on singing. In
Afghanistan, everyone did not have the chance or means to listen
to or play music. Outside Even though Afghans rarely agree with each other, this was one instance that they came together and selected their choice musician. Today, Darya is a musician that widely travels from one country to next and from one continental to the other in search of Afghan music lovers. He is searching for the heartbeat of the Afghan music lover in each and every city that he visits or lives in. Whatever mistakes Afghans may have made, by choosing Darya the most favorite and talented signer was not one of them. |
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