Held at the AKUH football ground, the carnival started at 4:00 p.m. Apart from the usual food and refreshment booths, many other stalls had been set up to provide information and medical counseling, and also for taking complimentary blood tests and heart related medical examinations.

Around 7:00 p.m. the very-respected celebrity Anwar Maqsood (the master of ceremonies) came up on the stage (which had been set up for the later performance), and called in guest speakers to talk about the human heart and what needs to be done to keep it healthy. The whole theme of these talks highlighted one very important thing; that a lot of habits we develop, especially in early childhood, and take them for granted, can really change our future. Starting to smoke at very young age, eating junk food all the time, avoiding a natural diet, all these are factors that can lead up to having an unhealthy heart which have severe consequences in the long run. What was further highlighted was that all these factors, mentioned above, are becoming part of the lifestyle of our new generation and that its time some alarm bells were struck in this regard!

While many doctors participated in the conversation, to add a non-doctor touch, Ali Noor and Bilal Maqsood were also called upon stage to talk about these issues. In the end there was a prize distribution ceremony for students from different schools who had participated in the Smart Heart Program by sending in artwork and poems related to the Heart and Soul theme. A final Lucky Draw was also held for people who had come for the Mela.

Finally, around 8:00 p.m. (rather early for a musical concert, especially in Karachi!), noori was called on stage to perform for the odd 2000 people who had gathered at the Mela. The crowd response, when the band got on stage, showed the eagerness of the of noori fans who had been waiting for a noori performance, for quite some time. Well, the noori members were equally as enthusiastic as they were so waiting to perform, especially in Karachi, where they had not had a performance for over three months!

To keep in sync with the theme of the event, the performance started with Dil Bolay. Straight away the crowd went roaring. Right afterwards came a surprise, and definitely the highlight of the show. As Gumby started playing the drum intro to Dil Ki Qasam, Ali Noor called on stage Mr. Bilal Maqsood! The crowd was wondering as to would happen now, and when they were expecting Ali Noor to sing the opening lines for the song, Bilal went on to sing the opening lines for Sar Kiye Ye Pahaar, once again the crowd went roaring! This is the first time that two bands have merged two of their biggest hit numbers into one performance. The Dil Ki Qasam-Sar Kiye Ye Pahaar medley was an instant hit among the crowd, and there is great hope that more of a Strings-noori collaboration will be witnessed in future concerts. Though Bilal left after this song, the band continued to perform for over an hour, doing almost all their concert songs, ending the show, as always, on Gana No. 1.

All in all another memorable noori performance! Memorable especially because of the cause for which this entire event was held. The entire noori philosophy is based on the premise that the youth of today are the people on whose shoulders the responsibility of the future lies. And if they cannot maintain a healthy life-style, how can one expect them to make the world a healthy place when they will have the power to do so?

related links
The Smart Heart Program   pictures   discuss