"Meena" ( ; lit. ''Light'') is a 2014

Sindhi language Sindhi ( ; or , ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by more than 30 million people in the Pakistani province of Sindh, where it has official status, as well as by 1.7 million people in India, where it is a Scheduled languages of India, schedu ...

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

sufi rock Sufi rock or Sufi folk rock is a subgenre of rock music that combines rock with classical Islamic Sufi music traditions. It emerged in the early 1990s and became widely popular in the late 1990s in Pakistan and Turkey. The term "Sufi rock" was co ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

The Sketches The Sketches () is a Sufi folk rock band from Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan, created by young musician Saif Samejo. "Sindhi melody is very charming; there is enormous flexibility of words" says Saif Samejo. Their motherland has always been a major ...

. It was released on April 16, 2014 in Pakistan as a

digital download Digital download may refer to: *Downloading, the processing of copying data to a computer from an external source *Digital distribution, a method of downloading software or audio-visual media as opposed to buying it at a traditional point of sale * ...

. It is an

educational Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...

-inspired song about the journey of a girl with her doll (''Meena'') to the school. It deals with the social issue of education in Sindh. The song was written by Ishaq Samejo, and produced and composed by Saif Samejo. "Meena" was well received by critics, becoming one of the most successful singles by the band. At the 3rd Annual Hum Awards ceremony, it was nominated for Best Music Single for Saif Samejo and

Best Music Video The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an accolade presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. ...

for Haroon and Ghafar.

About the song

The song was produced and composed by Saif himself while the lyrics were written by his brother Ishaq. It is a collaboration between the band's long term partner and musician Frank Arkwright. Describing their inspiration behind the song, Saif said: "The Basic Theme for video is inspired from a short film ''Silent Wish'' of Najeeb Rashidi as well as ''Meena'' is inspiration from many musicians and artists who have been escalating their word out for education and many those i have been listening since long. Recording Meena also enlarged the kid residing in me. The concern for education could not have been addressed any better than in language of child who is curious to learn and explore. Let's spread the word of education with the aroma of Music in the air. The song is a dedication by Band to those who struggled for education." In an interview, Saif said, "The song will be a dedication to all those who long to be educated yet are deprived of it – We hope the Syllabus will cease to promote inequality, injustice, hatred and exploitation and we hope our educational institutes will promote love peace and harmony, ...May better sense prevails."

Music video

Synopsis

The video depicts a child's journey between dreams and reality and the seriousness of the problem that hits home. A singer croons in the backdrop of the scenes singing the song, while a little girl starts her journey towards school by carrying a doll named "Meena". On the way, she crosses various hurdles and changes her path while cherishing her enthusiasm and passion for education, but when she reaches the school and opens the door she find nothing but devastation and disintegration. However, the child grows up to be a teacher in the same school, teaching other little girls.

Cast and crew

Following is the list of artists who worked on this record: *

Singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

: Saif Samejo *

Band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

* Featuring artist: Arzu, Quratunain, Anoushey and Saif Samejo *

Lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

: Ishaq Samejo *

Music video director A music video director is the head, overseer or facilitator of music video production. The director conceives of videos' artistic and dramatic aspects while instructing the musical act, technical crew, actors, models, and dancers. They may or ...

: Haroon Habib and Ghafar Mohihudin *

Record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

s: Saif Samejo and

Record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

: Lahooti Studios (Jamshoro) ; Personnel *

Composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

: Saif Samejo *

Mastering engineer Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the Audio mixing (recorded music), final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source ...

: Jono Manson *

Guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

: Omarn Shafique *

Arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

: Nomi Ali

Track listing

*;Digital download (2014) "Meena" featuring Saif Samejo — 4:46

Accolades

The single received the following nominations at 2015 Hum Awards:

References

External links

*
''Meena''
on

Dailymotion Dailymotion is a French online video platform, online video sharing platform owned by Canal+ S.A., Canal+. Prior to 2024, the company was owned by Vivendi. North American launch partners included Vice Media, Bloomberg L.P., Bloomberg, and Hears ...

''Meena''
on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...