On Maher Aftab’s 30th Birthday, a collection of music he loved.
Today on August 10th, 2021, Maher would be 30. The idea that we are no longer growing old together is strange and confusing.
5 min readAug 10, 2021
In an attempt to turn grief into something more celebratory, I decided to parse through our emails, facebook wall and message exchanges, and his computer. I’d like to honor Maher today by sharing a glimpse of his sweet musical interests with whomever wishes to engage.
Maher was a beautiful self taught singer and flute player. His relationship with music was extremely deep and thoughtful. One of the many things I miss is being able to share music with him. For us, music comes from some unknown forgotten ancient lineage, perhaps. Whatever it is, his bond with it is undeniable.
1. Manqbat Khawaja Chisti — Raag desh Khamaj Thaat — U. Rashid Khan & U. Shahid Parvezz Part 1/2
2. Hamid Ali Bela — Ronda Mool Na Sonda Ay
3. Tufail Niazi — Sada Kaliyan Da Ji Nahi Lagda 1
4. Punjabi Classic Sajna VichhoRa Tera Jind na Sahaardi
5. Guy J — Dust
6. Henry Krinkle — Stay
7. Andrew Bird — Pulaski at Night
8. Damien Rice — I Don’t Want To Change You
9. Bon Iver — Holocene
10. Hozier — Take Me To Church
11. Major Lazer & DJ Snake — Lean On (feat MØ)
12. Tere Naina — Kailash Kher
13. Pundit Nikhil Banerjee — Raga Bhairav
14. Mehdi Hassan — Aggy Bhary Na Qisaa
15. That Table By The Wall (artist unknown)
16. James Blunt — Goodbye My Lover
17. Eric Clapton — Wonderful Tonight
18. Abba — Waterloo
19. Télépopmusik — Breathe
20. Ustad Barkat Ali Khan — Dono Jahan Teri Muhabat
21. Barkat Ali Bhatt — Je Hi Dalbo Ho — Edo Piyar Mo Khe
22. Nina Simone — Feeling Good (Nicolas Jaar edit)
23. Main Chup Khara hua Hoon
24. Na ro zainab naro mer jighar tukre
25. Kanye West — Heartless
26. 2Pac feat Sade — Jezebel
27. 50Cent — 9 Shots
28. Beyonce — Listen
29. Michael Jackson — Billie Jean
30. Alef — Sol
31. Shafqat Amanat Ali — Khamaaj
32. Neha Dwivedi — Secrets/Aas Paas Khuda/Kheriyan De Naal
33. Sukhwinder Singh — Aaj Mera Jee Karda (Today My Heart Desires)
34. Tufail Niazi — Mai nai jana
35. Phill Collins — In The Air Tonight
36. Jeff Beck — Nadia
37. Neha Bhasin — Madhaniya
38. Iqbal Bano — Ulfat Ki Nai Manzil Ko Chala
39. Ravi Shankar & Anoushka Shankar Live: Raag Khamaj
40. Ustad Salamat Ali Khan — Sanwal Mor Muharan
41. Little Dragon — Twice
42. Mehdi Hassan — Aey Kuch Abr
43. Ali Sethi — Aah Ko Chahiye
44. Javed Bashir & Akbar Ali feat. Aamir Zaki — Naina Moray
45. Nu — Man O To
46. Taj Daar-e-Haram
47. Arooj Aftab — Yaad Piya Ki Aey
48. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan — Je Tu Rab Nu Manuna
49. Kwabs — Spirit Fade
50. Hamid Ali Bela — Neu La Leya
I’ll leave everyone with this very beautiful and likely only recording of Maher singing one of his favorite Punjabi folk tunes. And this great photo of him flashing us some thumbs up for the hours of amazing music he’s left us to absorb. Happy Birthday Maher! Thank you for all the love you shared.
