Meet Mirweis, Afghanistan`s pop star Mirweis Nijrabi 07.11.2005 KABUL: - For as long as he can remember, 14-year-old Mirweis Nijrabi wanted to be a singer. This slender boy with a bowl-cut hairstyle inherited the tender voice and ambitious drive of his father, a famous Afghan vocalist who died when Mirweis was still a toddler. The only thing Mirweis lacked, until recently, was the freedom to pursue his dream. Until 2002, most music was illegal in Afghanistan -- as were television, radio and movies. Thanks to the U.S. invasion after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Afghan musicians are no longer an endangered species. U.S.-led forces drove out the Taliban, a group of fundamentalist Muslim preachers that ruled Afghanistan for five years with strict laws that banned popular entertainment and prohibited girls from attending school. "Those were hard times," Mirweis said. "The songs had to stay inside of you. You kept your heart closed. . . . Some people`s talent withered and died." Now, Afghans once again hum in the shower, crank up the radio in their cars and clap to live music at parties. That liberty couldn`t come soon enough for Mirweis and his brother Abdul Rahmin, 24, who in the past four years have become superstars in Afghanistan, with booked appearances nearly every night stretching months in advance. The duo, called the Nijrabi band, perform folk songs in Dari, a language spoken by most Afghans. The singers are backed by traditional Afghan instruments such as the "rubab," a guitar-like instrument with eight strings that has a thick, round body like a butternut squash. There are no cover versions of American hits -- Mirweis doesn`t speak English. Instead, his specialty is Afghan love songs. He and his brother are in great demand to sing at weddings. Afghan culture is long and rich. Poetry and music play a strong role in it. At school, children learn poems and prayers written more than 500 years ago. Different occasions have distinctive music: the birth of a baby, a couple`s engagement, a wedding or a death. Families hire musicians to play at parties organized for each of these events. During the two-month wedding season that ended in October, the Nijrabis didn`t have a single night off. They made, on average, $400 a night -- a fortune in a country where people are lucky to make $2,000 in a year. Sitting in his one-story, mud-brick house in western Kabul, Mirweis doesn`t resemble most of America`s famous frontmen. He has none of the gruff bravado of Eminem or sparkling stage presence of a young Michael Jackson. (In fact, Mirweis hasn`t even heard of these or other American stars.) Instead, he speaks softly and has impeccable manners. This softness and tenderness makes him a natural for singing about love, said his uncle, Zayatullah, who became responsible for taking care of Mirweis, the boy`s mother and his siblings after his father died of cancer 12 years ago. "He has a pure voice that echoes tender feelings that young people have," Zayatullah said. "It`s suited to songs of love." Although Mirweis and his brother are wealthy by Afghan standards, the family house remains simple and typical of this poor country. There isn`t an indoor toilet. Nor is there a television because the family receives electricity for only five hours each day. Only outdoors, on Kabul`s streets, can a visitor catch a glimpse of how big a superstar the teenager is. CDs and tapes featuring Mirweis are on sale at the markets, and his songs are played on the radio. Mirweis is so well known that he can`t walk to school by himself or fetch groceries for his mother without bodyguards, which usually are an older brother and a cousin. His schedule is so busy that he hardly has time for kid stuff anymore. The band performances mean that he stays out working until 3 a.m. or even 4 a.m. Mirweis then sleeps until about 10, eats breakfast and rushes off to school, where he studies for four hours each day. He sometimes has an hour to play soccer with his friends, if he doesn`t have homework. But by 6 p.m. he has to be finished with dinner and getting dressed for his next gig. The hectic lifestyle is exciting, says Mirweis, but fame isn`t the sole motivator for his singing. He feels a great responsibility to help his family financially and emotionally. "I don`t remember my dad but hear from strangers that I sound like my dad, that I look like my dad. Since all I have is a picture of him on the wall at home, that makes me feel closer to him," Mirweis said. << | >> |
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