Kerala to accord public reception to Pakistan ghazal singer Ghulam Ali

Pakistani ghazal legend Ghulam Ali will perform in Kerala this month as scheduled and would be accorded a public reception which would be attended by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and several other personalities.

Office-bearers of Swaralaya, the cultural-social organisation which invited the singer to the state, on Sunday confirmed that Ali's programme would be held as announced earlier and said a public reception would be given to him in association with the state government on January 14.

75-year-old Ali would perform in Thiruvananthapuram on January 15 and in Kozhikode on January 17, former state cultural minister and CPI(M) leader M A Baby, a founder-member of Swaralaya, told reporters here.

Two of Ali's scheduled concerts in Mumbai and Pune in October were cancelled following protests from Shiv Sena while the singer himself backed out from his Delhi programme citing personal reasons. The Shiv Sena had held that such a concert could not be allowed when tension prevailed at the Indo-Pak border.

Besides Chandy, various personalities from all walks of life would participate in the function, Baby said. He also announced the Swaralaya-Kairali-Yesudas Award recipients for this year.

Noted singer Vani Jairam and music director Ouseppachan would get the award, comprising a purse of Rs one lakh and a citation, given in recognition of outstanding contribution to the field of music.