Kabul

The re-emergence of music in the streets and homes of Kabul's residents was as clear a sign as any that the miserable reign of the Taliban had drawn to a close. As in many countries in the region, it is impossible to buy 'legal' CDs. Bootlegs are available in shop upon shop in Flower Street, one of the main shopping thoroughfares.

One such shop is 'Ariana DVD', owned by Fardin. I'm full of the romantic idea that there might have been a group of underground musicians who met in secret, playing rebabs (a local lute ) until the early hours, decrying the vicious regime they were under as had happened in former Yugoslavia. If there had been, Fardin certainly didn't know of any, and was pretty reluctant to talk at all of the Taliban, their presence an all too recent memory.

Instead he agrees to draw me up a 'Top Ten' list of artists currently popular in the city. I'm astounded to find Modern Talking still have a constituency in Central Asia.

As well as Western imports, Fardin lists national artists, divided eerily into those who are in exile and those who have come back to live in the country.

If you're after something a bit more acoustic take the trip to the Inter-Continental Hotel. There one can hear rebab recitals every other night. The instrument's melancholy tones complement the often sombre frontier folk songs.

Back in the city, a mustachioed man named Parvez plays me crackly HMV 78s on a wind-up Decca record player that was kept hidden under the floorboards to avoid its destruction and its owners' imprisonment. The songs seem to be in Hindi but as the records sound like sandpaper I couldn't say for sure. The important point of course, is that they can be played openly: music is now part of day-to-day life in Kabul again.

Best Selling Artists Chart supplied by Fardin, owner of Ariana DVD Centre, Flower Street, Kabul.

Western

Britney Spears
Shakira
Modern Talking
Eminem
Joe
Backstreet Boys

Afghan (in exile)

Ahmad Zair
Farhad Daria
Waid Qasimy
Wajia
Habib Qadri
Nashanase
Sarban

Afghan (in country)

Daud Hanife
Saultan Hamahaug