HBL PSL: Where is cultural diversity, the spirit of nationalism?
BY ALI NAQVI –
Why would HBL ridicule any PSL team for fun or otherwise? The recent snippets titled “Jeet Ki Jang” are fun to watch, if I may say so, but what’s the point. Since HBL left JWT-Karachi (now JWT-Grey) as its creative agency the creatives have been going downhill. PSL is the biggest sporting event the country has seen for many decades. It is also the first time the entire HBL PSL is going to take place in Pakistan. The only question that comes to mind for now is, has HBL taken the right creative strategy to promote the dream of all Pakistanis.
Sometimes, when something doesn’t go right everything else that is wrong follows. Coke is a recent example. After the disastrous “extremist campaign” Coca Cola could not lift the game and its journey downhill goes unabated. It’s not only the Jeet Ki Jang adverts but the new theme song of HBL PSL which has some serious issues. Music as they say like other art forms is subjective, so we should not be debating on the musical value of the anthem Tayyar Hain.
It could have been preferable had the anthem Tayyar Hain been ill composed or completely off beat rather than something which doesn’t reflect the national spirit and unity. Why could someone forget that Pakistan is a country with four provinces with their distinct regional and cultural identities?
Tayyar Hain unfortunately represents the spirit of Punjab only. We see the living legend Arif Lohar in action but we don’t get a glimpse of any Sindhi folk artist or Balochi or Pashto singer. HBL and PCB could have stuck to the previous anthem by Ali Zafar if they had to come up this one. Tayyar Hain was supposed to showcase the entire Pakistan, its cultural diversity, its natural splendor and above all the hospitality of the people from Gilgit to Gwadar and from Karachi to Khyber.
The federation of Pakistan has never been strong. What unites the provincial units together is the power of sports and the strength of music. The new anthem was an opportunity to make full use of cricket and music to bind the country together, to hold the colors of all ethnic entities into one embrace and to exhibit the value of unity in diversity. Junoon’s World Cup 2019 anthem Choolay Aasman sponsored by Sooper is a perfect example. It showed a united Pakistan that brought all religious, ethnic and linguistic identities under one flag. Unfortunately HBL PSL anthem is devoid of any concept, thought or idea.
The revival of international cricket in Pakistan will now be complete. Players from around the world are coming to Pakistan for the fifth edition of HBL PSL. Apart from the creative blunders committed by both HBL and PCB every Pakistan is looking forward to a great HBL PSL which will send a positive image of Pakistan not only in the cricketing world but also across the globe.
