India vs Pakistan: Music divides two countries, Google unites

If music transcends all boundaries, bringing hearts together, then musicians are undoubtedly the bearers of peace, harmony and love.

But arch-rivals India and Pakistan, who fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947, will take every possible steps to douse the light of these torch bearers.

Yesterday (October 13), far-right Indian protesters angry at the planned launch of a former Pakistani foreign minister's book covered the event organiser with black ink..

Sudheendra Kulkarni (the organiser) condemned the incident as an 'assault on democracy' as he addressed the media in Mumbai, his face and hair covered in ink.

The incident comes amid a series of such cancellations that have led to growing concerns about freedom of speech in India.

The Shiv Sena, a junior partner in a ruling coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Maharashtra state government, India, was last week accused of using threats to force the cancellation of an appearance in Mumbai by Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali.

Pakistani singer Atif Aslam's concert in Hadapsar, Pune scheduled for April 25 was cancelled after strong opposition from the Shiv Sena.

But Google has a perfect response for these smear activists (ink on their face?).

The internet giant is celebrating Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's 67th birth anniversary with Google Doodle (google.in, google.pk).

The doodle showcases a Qawwali (Sufi music) in which the maestro is portrayed singing with other Qawwali walas (singers/ musicians) sitting, singing and playing various instruments.

A click on the doodle will take you to the search page where a number of pages are listed full of information on the the Qawwali singer.

Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, one of the greatest singers of his generation in the genre of qawwali, was born on October 13, 1948 in Lyallpur, Punjab, which now falls in Pakistan.

The maestro, in his active years, toured extensively and collaborated with many international artists (including Indians).
 
He also went on to release movie scores and albums in Europe, India, Japan, Pakistan and the US.

He died of a cardiac arrest at the age of 49 on August 16, 1997, at the peak of his career.

Paying tribute and remembering the Ustad, Google has definitely transcended internet boundaries (at least).

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