Finding Noor: The Tale Of How Two Pakistani Musicians Found Each Other

Finding Noor: The Tale Of How Two Pakistani Musicians Found Each Other
Daniyal Ahmed

The transcendent quality of music is widely known. Whether it’s an upbeat pop number to wiggle out your Monday blues or a ballad to let out your cathartic cry; music’s ability to resonate with every emotion of ours is truly a thing of wonder.

In the lands of Balochistan lives Ustad Noor Baksh, a Balochi Benjo (Banjo) player – how we know of him is a rather interesting tale. Daniyal Ahmed, a full-time teacher and musician himself, made his way to Balochistan to look for Noor, whose video playing the benjo had become popular a few years ago – with no address, no location, and nothing to go on other than a couple of leads.

With the help of a couple of companions, Daniyal set out on his journey to find Noor. With chances that may have seemed bleak at first, he travelled the wondrous roads of the region, stopping along the way and sometimes treating any passer-by to his melodious renditions on the flute. One of his contacts, Jaanu Pardesi led them in a hopeful direction.

With a stroke of luck, or perhaps all the dua paying off, Daniyal found Ustad Noor Baksh on the side of a road, waiting to hitch a ride back to his village, after his cycle’s chain broke.

What ensued then, as we find through Daniyal’s documentation in Finding Noor, is what we can only describe as magic. With the help of his instrument, you cannot take your eyes off of him – mesmerising us with a few tunes as he sat on a chatai in vast lands of sand. Noor’s aura is not limited to the benjo however. His humility, grace, and love for music show in his words. Hosting Daniyal modestly and with care, Finding Noor reveals snippets of their days spent together.

In the series of Instagram stories, we see Ustad Noor Baksh let Daniyal know of Guahram, his old-time friend who plays the damboora. Noor says that Guahram is his favourite person to play music with. In fact, Noor also did say, “Jab Guahram damboora bajata hai, mera shauq jaagta hai (when Guahram plays the damboora, my passion wakes up).

Noor’s musical influences are plenty – from Sindhi to Balochi, he is able to belt out various tunes that hold and narrate different histories. Daniyal’s almost infectiously awestruck demeanour can be felt through the screen. He often lets his flautist talents loose as we get to see glimpses of his masterful performances.

Ustad Noor Baksh’s mehmaan nawazi is also noteworthy – home-cooked meals among other kind offers, his humility peeps through his everyday acts.

Finding Noor, at the outset, is simply a collection of short clips of a man travelling to find another man, all out of his love for music. Its intricacies, however, are what are brilliantly heartwarming. We can not help but hone in on the immense power of music, and its role in uniting people. Cultures, identities, and traditions are often looked at through a lens of division, and it is then challenging to find what, in fact, unites us. Daniyal’s and Noor’s story serves as a reminder of the capacity and motivations of the human heart.

The tale of Daniyal and Noor may have been short-lived for now, but we truly hope they meet each other again, if not for anything else but to create some more magic.

Find Daniyal Ahmed here. You can watch Finding Noor in his highlights.

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