India-born maestro Zubin Mehta’s “peace” concert in Srinagar’s Shalimar Bagh was blemished by a series of bloody incidents, a protest shutdown and a parallel show at which local poets, singers and political and human rights activists attempted to showcase Kashmir in its “right perspective” on Saturday.
The 77-year-old Mr Mehta apparently was not oblivious to the antagonism as he publicly acknowledged hurting people “inadvertently” and promised he would return to Kashmir to perform for everyone, not a select few. He said, “I’ve waited for this moment for a long time. There are those, a few Kashmiris, hurt inadvertently. I promise next time we shall do this with everyone in a stadium where everyone can come, so it won’t be a select few. When the music starts, a positive wave goes from this stage everywhere,” he said before his performance at the Ehsaas-e-Kashmir (Feeling of Kashmir) concert.
The Bavarian State Orchestra was organised by the embassy of Germany which had invited 1,500 people, including film and cricket celebrities, business tycoons and top journalists from across the country, besides key politicians, MPs and New Delhi-based heads of various foreign missions. But not all turned up. Around 300 students and members of the faculty from Kashmir University who had been selected to attend the concert were left out of the guest list following “negative inputs” from the security and intelligence agencies.