Meet Irfan-Bilal, musician duo who run 'Mezrab', Kashmir's first music training school

Kashmir musician duo Irfan-Bilal has been together for over 2 decades. Their music school 'Mezrab' offers hope and training to those interested in learning everything about music and singing, reports ETV Bharat's Zukqarnain Zulfi.

Srinagar:In the early 2000s, two Kashmiri singers - Irfan Nabi and Bilal Ahmed - became popular for their songs "Zamaane Pok Na Humdum, Toti Kiya Gao, Tamas Gayi Zulf Brahm, Toti Kiya Gao". People started knowing these two singers by the name of Irfan Bilal and it seemed that both of them are not two persons but a single entity.

While most people fly high after gaining popularity, Irfan and Bilal have always remained grounded. At that time they had also opened a center for learning music, but it had to be closed due to the political conflict in the valley.

Today almost 17 years have passed and Irfan and Bilal are still with each other and teaching music to children in their new institution. While talking to ETV Bharat, Irfan said, "Bilal and I are not friends and we are not even brothers. We have not given any name to our relationship. I am Bilal and Bilal is Irfan. We are both of us at times. We become the parents of each other sometimes."

Talking about their institution he said, "In 2020 we started this institution here in Bemina. We named it Mezrab. The name was given because Mezrab is the tool used to play musical instruments. Here we not only teach students about music but also how to cope with the difficulties they face. We are glad that these kids are inspired by us and are paving their way."

Bilal also agrees with Irfan's views. "There are currently more than 120 students learning music in our institute. There is a good number of women among them. Interestingly, the youngest student is only three years old while the eldest is more than 80 years old. Old people or children come here from all corners of the valley to learn music," said Bilal.

He said, “We believe and we strongly explain to these kids that the talent hunts make the way easy but hard work takes you to heights. Here our aim is to introduce students to traditional music. In western countries, too much attention is paid to traditional music. As such why should we remain behind?"

Talking about the music gharanas, Bilal said, "We belong to the Patiala gharana and this reflects in our music too. It is unfortunate that Kashmir does not have its own gharana. We have Sufi music and we are working on it."

The students who came to learn music in the institution also expressed satisfaction and said that they are given information not only about music but also about the history of instruments, which increases their knowledge and they love it too.