Sara Zaland
The late Ustad Jalil Ahmad Zaland, his wife, Sara Zaland (peacefully passed away last week in the USA), and their children achieved enormous success as pioneers of Afghan modern popular music.
The significance of the Zaland family in Afghan music is astounding, especially in a down-to-earth traditional society like Afghanistan, where music was mainly considered an untouchable art.
When the Taliban reasserted their rule in Kabul, they silenced the voice of music and are trying to obliterate the art of music and turn it into an alien fragment of the Afghan identity. The Zalands’ music, concert mastery on Radio Afghanistan, and their duets are a great source of inspiration for the young Afghan singers.
Their soul-warming voice and songs symbolize the modern generation of Afghan music. The legacy of their parents continued to resonate and grow through their brilliant children: Shahla Zaland, pop superstar, has a unique, romantic, and innovative singing style.
She masterfully intertwines the essence of Afghan traditional music with a thoughtful fusion of Western musical tradition. She excelled at her music by demonstrating an admirably high knowledge and imagination of Afghan popular, folk, and Western adventurist musical tradition. Similarly, their son, Farid Zaland, is a world-class composer and songwriter with a rich musicology in techniques and style, even though he composed many songs for the Iranian contemporary popular music and contributed significantly to the development of Iranian national music.
The Afghan art experts, the family aficionados and devotees wish that Farid Zaland compose songs for young Afghan talents. It may be hard to perform his compositions, but he can notably contribute to training Afghan singers to modernize their artistic productions.
No doubt Zalands, along with their lengthy career, captured the imagination of their generation and have made a powerful impact on other Afghan singers and musicians.
-Dr Ehsan Azari Stanizai, Sydney, Australia, 31/07/2025
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