ShowCase Events Goes To Kashmir For Koshur Funkar!

KOSHUR FUNKAR was conceived with the purpose of the upliftment of the young talent of Kashmir in the space of music by bringing them to the forefront and creating an opportunity for them to be recognized. 

An initiative of Kashmiri local, Padmashree Awardee, Faisal Ali Dar, Koshur Funkar is one of its kind Talent Hunt Music Festival held on Wular Lake Vantage Park, in Bandipora District, J&K. Held under the aegis of the ALI SPORTS ACADEMY (ASA), founded by Padmashree Faisal Ali Dar himself, which has successfully contributed to developing a sports culture in the valley of Kashmir and has created champions from the youth of Kashmir. Faisal has worked extremely hard to bring the youth of Kashmir to National and International stages of various competitions where they have won medals for our country. ASA, along with Showcase Events and The Eagle, is now working towards promoting the musically talented YOUTH of Kashmir and bringing them into the mainstream of Indian talent and alongside promoting Kashmiri folk and traditional music. 

This will be an annual event for at least 5 seasons.

Koshur Funkar has been curated, designed, and executed by Nanni Singh of ShowCase Events, New Delhi and Angelina Fernandes of The Eagle. They have both been working in the field of music for over 15 years and are curators of music festivals and shows. Colonel Sandeep Bhatnagar (Retd), an Army Veteran, has taken it upon himself to make this a success for the youth of Kashmir. 

For Nanni, it’s her passion to work towards conserving folk music and to promote it amongst the youth, the torch bearers of our intangible cultural heritage. Thus, she came up with the concept of Koshur Funkar for Kashmir. To do something like this in north Kashmir was perhaps most challenging, but the immense support and power of music made this an event to remember. This has to become a revolution, to survive. Angelina has been closely working with multilingual national and international award-winning artists and her curiosity for Kashmiri talent brought her on to be passionately involved with Koshur Funkar. Colonel Sandeep Bhatnagar, an army veteran, had been based out of Kashmir for many years and Wular and around was his main base. His heart beats for the people there and he took this upon himself to help promote Bandipora through Koshur Funkar.

The concept of this event started with a vision to:

1. To promote the talented youth of Kashmir in the field of music
2. To promote Kashmiri folk music and folk artists
3. To promote Wular Lake as a tourist destination

The selected 5 talented young singers, Shafat Ahmad, Mohammad Mudasir, Arshid Margo, Yawar Ayoub, Ishfaq Ahmad Wani competed on the main stage. They sang Kashmiri Folk and Sufiyana. The judge’s round was interesting and challenging. The winner of Koshur Funkar 2023 Yawar Ayoub had the opportunity to perform with Noor Mohammad Shah and Gulzar Ganie on the main stage.

The highly eminent Jury compromised of folk legends Gulzar Ganie and Noor Mohammad Shah and music journalist Nazir Ganaie. 

Prasenjit Basu, Head Marketing, Voltas Beko said “At Voltas Beko, we are delighted to be associated with Koshur Funkar, as we jointly celebrate the rich culture of Kashmir, nurturing its youthful talent and preserving the soulful melodies and traditional musical instruments that define the region's cultural heritage. Together, we strive to be the 'Partner of Everyday Happiness' for the people of Kashmir, spreading joy through the universal language of music.”

Life Insurance Corporation of India too stepped in to support the youth and Kashmiri folk music.

Folk legends and artistes of Kashmir Noor Mohammad, Shazia Bashir, Tanvir Ali and Nasir Ali Khan stepped in to support and motivate the young talent by performing at the event.

The evening opened with the welcoming performance by the local band from Ali’s Sports Academy. They played the local folk instruments and danced the local Kashmiri folk dance Bachkoot. This was followed by a welcome of the guests and dignitaries and the music loving audience. The first performance was by Ms Shazia Bashir, who sang like a nightingale. Sunset time and melodious Shazia were the perfect start for an event which had so much feeling. This was followed by the first round of the contestants’ performance. Up second was Mr Tanvir Ali, a youtube sensation of Kashmir. This was followed by the second round of the contestant’s performance. While the judges were adding their scores, Noor Mohammad Shah took the stage and enthralled the guests with his outstanding Kashmiri folk performance. 

The anchor for the  evening Nasir Ali Khan did an outstanding job of making it an engaging evening and he then called upon the team of Koshur Funkar to come and felicitate the judges and contestants and give a vote of thanks.

The biggest pat on the back goes to Ashraf, the production head, who despite all challenges, ensured the went off smoothly. Vaibhav Sharma was the creative force behind the festival and ensured creative information dissemination through social media. 

The team behind Koshur Funkar is extremely grateful to the overwhelming support of the District Administration of Bandipora, Wular, Manasbal Development Authority, WUCMA-Wular Conservation & Management Authority and the J&K Forest Department. Also, the Indian Army & J&K Police. 

The support of the radio partners and online media partners is unparalleled.

The talent hunt music festival was held on Wular Lake which is South Asia’s largest natural freshwater lake on October 5th, 2023

The highly eminent Jury comprised of folk legends Gulzar Ganie and Noor Mohammad Shah and journalist Nazir Ganaie. 

Prasenjit Basu, Head Marketing, Voltas Beko said “At Voltas Beko, we are delighted to be associated with Koshur Funkar, as we jointly celebrate the rich culture of Kashmir, nurturing its youthful talent and preserving the soulful melodies and traditional musical instruments that define the region's cultural heritage. Together, we strive to be the 'Partner of Everyday Happiness' for the people of Kashmir, spreading joy through the universal language of .”

Life Insurance Corporation of India too stepped in to support the youth and Kashmiri folk .

Folk legends and artistes of Kashmir Noor Mohammad, Shazia Bashir, Tanvir Ali and Nasir Ali Khan stepped in to support and motivate the young talent by performing at the event.

The evening opened with the welcoming performance by the local from Ali’s Sports Academy. They played the local folk instruments and danced the local Kashmiri folk dance Bachkoot. This was followed by a welcome of the guests and dignitaries and the loving audience. The first performance was by Shazia Bashir, who sang like a nightingale. Sunset time and melodious Shazia were the perfect start for an event which had so much feeling. This was followed by the first round of the contestants’ performance. Up second was Tanvir Ali, a youtube sensation of Kashmir. This was followed by the second round of the contestant’s performance. While the judges were adding their scores, Noor Mohammad Shah took the stage and enthralled the guests with his outstanding Kashmiri folk performance. 

The anchor for the  evening Nasir Ali Khan did an outstanding job of making it an engaging evening and he then called upon the team of Koshur Funkar to come and felicitate the judges and contestants and give a vote of thanks.

The biggest pat on the back goes to Ashraf, the production head, who despite all challenges, ensured the went off smoothly. Vaibhav Sharma was the creative force behind the festival and ensured creative information dissemination through social media. 

The team behind Koshur Funkar is extremely grateful to the overwhelming support of the District Administration of Bandipora, Wular, Manasbal Development Authority, WUCMA-Wular Conservation & Management Authority and the J&K Department. Also, the Indian Army & J&K . 

The support of the radio partners and online media partners is unparalleled.

The talent hunt festival was held on Wular which is South Asia’s largest natural freshwater on October 5th, 2023.