Abbas Ali Khan's new found obsession for the 'hot and spicy'

Abbas Ali Khan, hailed as one of the most well versed music makers of the country and slowly and steadily growing in the ranks to become one the biggest music producers in Pakistan after laying down magical compositions and songs for the cinema and advertisement industry.

The sun re singer known for his classical virtuosity and melodic compositions is not one to shy away from experimentation, his musical style has varied from Janay Kya Hai released in the year 2004 to his latest duet with his wife titled, Sitaron say aagay which is a blend of the nostalgic retro-synth based 80’s vibe coupled with a video paying homage to the old arcade games of the time.

The singer has now taken on what he currently terms a, “hobby which is now becoming an obsession”.

He has taken up gardening and is growing some of the most unique and rare chili’s from around the globe at his humble abode in Karachi.

Answering a question Abbas says: “Like everything in life, my journey began with trial and error, I initially tried growing some okra and lettuce which failed miserably.”

“I had sowed them in the wrong season because it was too hot outside,” Abbas adds.

As is a case with most artists, and individuals who tend to introspect and think about the big questions and quandaries in life, they are seen juggling more than one personalities at a time, this does not necessarily mean that they suffer from a bipolar disorder but they do come up with stage names and pseudonyms for their ‘other selves’ and sometimes obvious changes in conduct, behavioral patterns and creation are noticeable.

Abbas too likes to dabble with his darker side, he has owned up to and exhibited it in his masterpieces like Malal and Sun Re with dark undertones and macabre driven storylines.

“I took to chilies because they have a sinister element to them, they fascinate me, they have a lot of color and variety as well. I only grow hot peppers and super hot peppers.”

“I like challenges and have a hunch that some of the varieties of chilies that I grow are only being grown by me in Pakistan,” Abbas continues.

Abbas says that his initial inspiration stems from watching a video online of a ‘Carolina reaper’ which currently holds the Guinness world record for being the hottest pepper in the world.

“The inventor fused two different kinds of peppers together to come up with the Carolina reaper, I too ordered a batch and again, failed. I failed quite a lot actually with each of the pepper that I grew,” the singer confessed.

“I had help from my mentor Khalid Fazli who then taught me the basics and took me to the stage where I am today, being able to grow various varieties of chilies from all over the world at my house.”

“Another person to help me in my exploits was Faizan Haq, popular VJ from the yesteryear music channel era and now an esteemed host and voice-over artist who is a major organic gardening enthusiast.”

Talking about the kinds of peppers Abbas initially saw success with were, the Jalapenos and the ‘lipstick pepper’, the rest followed suit and hence his efforts started paying off.

“My plants of super-hot peppers are currently flowering and some have bore fruit, like the Trinidad Scorpion (yellow) Peppers.”

“My upcoming lot is based on the Carolina reaper and it’s incarnations, what we generally consume and grow in Pakistan are different varieties of cayenne peppers.”

When people inquire about what my end goal is with regards to these chilies and what I intend to do with them, I usually tell them that, “people aren’t used to the heat quotient that most of these chilies harbor, so I don’t intend to mainstream them but I do make sauces out of them, experiment with them in different cooking recipes, I dry them out, make powder out of them by crushing etc. I also distribute them among friends, maybe I can sell seeds to gardening enthusiasts but I have no concrete plan at the moment,” revealed Abbas.

Abbas is currently planning to expand his range in his green thumbed quest, “I tried growing tomatoes which caught a pest infestation, my focus remains on peppers for now but I will be growing different herbs and lettuces in the winters.”