Google Commemorates Success of 1st Sudanese Female Music Composer

Google Doodle celebrated the anniversary of the huge success achieved by Sudanese composer and oud player, Asma Hamza
Google Doodle celebrated the anniversary of the huge success achieved by Sudanese composer and oud player, Asma Hamza
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Google Commemorates Success of 1st Sudanese Female Music Composer

Google Doodle celebrated the anniversary of the huge success achieved by Sudanese composer and oud player, Asma Hamza
Google Doodle celebrated the anniversary of the huge success achieved by Sudanese composer and oud player, Asma Hamza

Google Doodle celebrated the anniversary of the huge success achieved by Sudanese composer and oud player, Asma Hamza, who was known as the oud princess.

On July 19, 1997, Asma was the first Sudanese female composer to win the national music competition Laylat Al-Qadr Al-Kubra, which was a turning point in her career and helped her gain recognition in a male-dominated field in her country.

Her first popular work was composing the music of the “Al Zaman Al Tayb” written by Sudanese poet Saifeddine el-Desouki, and sang by Sudanese singer Sumaya Hassan in 1983.

Born in 1932, Hamza loved music from a young age, dreaming of becoming a singer. However, her vocal cords were not equipped to handle singing safely, so she switched to whistling melodies instead. When her father heard her whistle in harmony, he borrowed an oud (similar to a lute but with a thinner neck and no frets) so Asma could practice.

She taught herself to play oud using her memory and her musical sense. Despite that it was not socially tolerable for women to practice music in Sudan during her time, her father was one of few who encouraged her interest in music. According to Google, Asma composed her first musical piece in secrecy.

The first music she ever composed was “Ya Ouyouni” for a poem by Egyptian poet Ali Mahmoud Taha, in 1956.

With time, she collaborated with many talented Arab artists. She composed over 90 songs and became one of the most renowned female composers in Sudan. She also kept playing oud and officially became the first trained oud player in 1946.

Asma Hamza died in May 2018.



Himalayan Snow at 23-year Low, Threatening 2 billion People

Snowfall in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan mountain range has reached a 23-year low, threatening nearly two billion people dependent on snowmelt for water - AFP
Snowfall in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan mountain range has reached a 23-year low, threatening nearly two billion people dependent on snowmelt for water - AFP
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Himalayan Snow at 23-year Low, Threatening 2 billion People

Snowfall in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan mountain range has reached a 23-year low, threatening nearly two billion people dependent on snowmelt for water - AFP
Snowfall in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan mountain range has reached a 23-year low, threatening nearly two billion people dependent on snowmelt for water - AFP

Snowfall in Asia's Hindu Kush-Himalayan mountain range has reached a 23-year low, threatening nearly two billion people dependent on snowmelt for water, scientists warned in a report on Monday.

The Hindu Kush-Himalayan range, which stretches from Afghanistan to Myanmar, holds the largest reserves of ice and snow outside the Arctic and Antarctica and is a vital source of fresh water for about two billion people.

Researchers found "a significant decline in seasonal snow across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, with snow persistence (the time snow remains on the ground) 23.6 percent below normal - the lowest in 23 years," the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said.

"This trend, now in its third consecutive year, threatens water security for nearly two billion people," it said in its Snow Update Report.

The study also warned of "potential lower river flows, increased groundwater reliance, and heightened drought risk", AFP reported.

Sher Muhammad, the lead author of the ICIMOD report, told AFP that "this year the snowfall started late in January and remained low in the winter season on average".

Several countries in the region have already issued drought warnings, with upcoming harvests and access to water at risk for populations already facing longer, hotter, and more frequent heatwaves.

The inter-governmental ICIMOD organisation is made up of member countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.

It urged countries that rely on the 12 major river basins in the region to develop "improved water management, stronger drought preparedness, better early warning systems, and greater regional cooperation".

The Mekong and Salween basins -- the two longest rivers in Southeast Asia supplying water to China and Myanmar -- had lost around half of their snow cover, it noted.

Pema Gyamtsho, ICIMOD's director general, called for changes in policy to address the low snow levels in the long term.

"Carbon emissions have already locked in an irreversible course of recurrent snow anomalies in the HKH (Hindu Kush-Himalayas)," Gyamtsho said.

Asia is the region most affected by climate-related disasters, according to the UN's World Meteorological Organization, which reported last month that five of the past six years have seen the most rapid glacier retreat on record.