My musician friends in Afghanistan are hiding their musical instruments in fear of the Taliban: Young Afghan composer Arson Fahim

Twenty-one-year-old

Arson Fahim

, pianist, composer and conductor from Kabul, flew to Boston, USA, only a couple of weeks ago, with a scholarship to study Piano and Composition. The talented musician has performed at several prestigious venues around the world, including Bangalore and Ooty and was looking forward to a new chapter in his creative journey. But ever since he landed in the US, he has been anxious and fearful about the safety of his family — parents, sister, grandparents, uncle, aunts and cousins — in Kabul, as the Taliban swept towards the capital. Arson, who has been in constant touch with them, spoke to us about the current situation in his homeland,

Afghanistan

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“I speak with them. They (family) are fine as of now. But the situation in Kabul is not good at all. It is like we are returning to the Stone Age once again,” said Arson from Boston. “Taliban are claiming that they have changed. But I don’t believe them. They are like a dark force. There will be restrictions on women, education will stop and there will be a ban on music,” added the musician.

That, for Arson, is one of the biggest threats. Between 1996 and 2001 music was banned in Afghanistan during the Taliban regime. “Earlier, we saw them breaking and burning musical instruments. They killed artists. Recently, they killed a comedian. My musician friends have started hiding their musical instruments far away from their house so that when the Taliban conduct raids, they find nothing. It is heartbreaking to see that in the 21st century, when we have so much technology around us, you have to hide something as beautiful as music,” added Arson, who is also an Ambassador for Peace at the South Asian Symphony Orchestra (SASO).

SASO is a dream project put together by former diplomat Nirupama Rao along with her retired civil servant husband, Sudhakar, where over 70 musicians from Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and India, as well as some from their diaspora, play.

Arson had very little exposure to music as a child, as his early days were spent in a refugee camp in Pakistan. “Though my family comes from the Parwan province of Afghanistan, I was born and spent my childhood in a refugee camp in Rawalpindi. My family fled from our homeland due to the war. Unfortunately, for most

Afghan

families, war caused displacements,” he recalled. Later, in 2012, Arson’s family moved back to Kabul, where he first encountered a grand piano. “I was at the learning centre when I heard the sound from behind the door. Even though I was nervous, I opened the door and saw the grand piano for the first time,” he said. That moment proved to be a turning point for the young boy who received lessons in music much later at The Afghan Child Education and Care Organization.

Arson first visited India in 2018 with the South Asian Symphony orchestra and performed in Ooty. The next year, he performed in Bangalore. “You don’t get to see a pianist in an orchestra though I play with the orchestra often and I visited India with the team. At that time, I met a lot of nice and friendly people. India is a diverse country. I hope, despite the diversity, people continue to love each other,” he said.

Talking about his plans in these challenging times, Arson said, “Once I'm done with my studies, I want to go back home to my family and help build my country. If they silence our music today, they will silence our voice tomorrow. We all are very scared about it. But we will have to continue our music. We will have to speak up and help our country,” he signed off.