Two days after his concert in Kolkata, Ghulam Ali was attending a function in Thiruvananthapuram.
Music maestro from Pakistan Ustad Ghulam Ali today said his first visit to Kerala will remain etched in his memory.
Two days after his
concert in Kolkata, he was attending a function in Thiruvananthapuram - his first visit to India since the controversial cancellation of his concert in Mumbai and Pune.
"I am amazed at the love I have received. Though I have been singing for 55 years, this day has become an important day in my life," he said at his felicitation by Swaralaya, a cultural organisation from Kerala.
The occasion was well attended, with political leaders cutting across party lines coming together to display a rare bonhomie.
The tone was set by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Opposition Leader VS Achuthanandan, who shared stage with Ghulam Ali.
Political divide ceased to exist at the felicitation ceremony for Ghulam Ali.
There were other leaders as well and despite the assembly elections being only a few months away, the political fault-lines were not visible.
After Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala made a speech in Hindi, CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan warmly shook hands with him.
"We welcome Ustad Ghulam Ali with much love, as a blow to all religious divisions," he said amid applause.
The CPM lawmaker, MA Baby, who is also an activist with Swaralaya, said, "Only yesterday, the Kerala CPM was very critical of how the government used the state machinery to exonerate former minister KM Mani from bribery allegation and the UDF attacked the LDF over an old scam... our political battles continue... but what we are seeing is the power of music and culture that binds and keeps us together."
In October, the maestro's Mumbai concert was cancelled days before it was to be held following threats by Shiv Sena, which rules Maharashtra along with the BJP. Then West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee invited him to Kolkata. The well-attended concert was held on Tuesday.