Fourth Note to “Dil Ze Sawdaye Du Chashme”

Ehsan Aman is the son-in-law of Fazel Ahmad Zekrya – otherwise known as “Nainawaz” – the artistic guru of the legendary Ahmad Zahir and the one who actually composed this song. It’s a small world in certain cases. They were all part of the liberal elite of that time. They had fun while it all lasted. And then reality hit with the Soviet invasion and all else. And then shit hit the fan. But of course, the wave of the Afghan diaspora which left immediately when the Soviet Union invaded has done the best it could with the little it had to preserve the culture and lifestyle of that time. Every Afghan living abroad is of course a vessel or a fragment of that culture and heritage, especially individuals like Ehsan Aman and my parents and their close friends and relatives. It is something I can take a certain level of pride in, if not when it comes to anything else. There isn’t much else to be happy about in most cases.