Music is a crucial part of Kashmir's culture with its roots going back several centuries.
Today, Kashmir’s timeless lyrics and dances are a blend of the traditional with the modern, and have the single-minded aim of winning the hearts and minds of people.
Few will imagine a police officer of senior rank, using a variety of songs to heal and energise the local populace, but that is what J&K Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Peer Zahoor enthusiastically does.
An SSP is primarily responsible for overseeing and maintaining law and order in the district to which he or she is posted. Each district has multiple police stations and an SSP has to implement strategies to prevent crime and maintain peace.
Fifty-year-old Zahoor loves music of all kinds and uses the medium to address the pressing issues of the time in the region. His latest romantic composition “Yemberzal” (White Narcissus Flower), sung by Rasiq Imtiyaz Khan, has already attracted over a million hits on YouTube, and has over 5,600 reels on Instagram.
“Qawwali ‘Battiye” is another of his songs, dealing with Kashmir’s power crisis. Today, it is Kashmir’s most circulated online song.
“Yemberzal” is a popular item at Kashmiri weddings and SSP Zahoor feels happy to hear it whenever he is invited to such functions.
Zahoor has composed over 30 songs, most of them in the romantic genre.
A police officer with over two decades of experience, Zahoor, an erstwhile resident of downtown Srinagar’s Nowhatta locality, has made a mark in Bollywood. He is a winner of the Mirchi Music Lyricist Award for 2021 for his song - ‘Woh Rubaru Khade Hain Magar Faasle Toh Hain’ for the Bollywood movie “Ginny Weds Sunny”.
He is the first Kashmiri Muslim lyricist to leave a mark in Bollywood.
Though he has written Kashmiri devotional lyrics, to songs in Hindi for the festive occasions of Holi and Ganesh Chaturthi, he believes Bollywood needs to reinvent its music, which can only be done if it attracts good lyricists and serious writers of music.
As he says, writing music is a passion and keeps him alive.
For him, a fan of legendary lyricists Gulzar and Anand Bakshi, simple expressions are the key to understanding the struggle and lives of the common man.
In 2025, SSP Zahoor is set to enter the prestigious musical platform, Coke Studio.