Most outstanding practitioners were products of this environment which left them without shelter and sustenance, left to fend for themselves in the market and compete with more popular forms of expression. This practice began fading with the creation of a new country and the abolition of princely states. The ancient and time tested method of patronage was guaranteed by the elite and ruling classes was a familial set-up which preserved and nourished musical knowledge. It was not easy to grasp that traditional methods and systems of creating musicians and their nexus – which includes patronage – was all but disappearing and needed to be replaced by systems more in synch with the contemporary social and economic compulsions of our society. This took for granted the very ephemeral nature and coincidence of the situation, and sufficient steps were not taken to ensure its continuation and sustenance. Their abundance, instead of being cherished led to complaisance regarding the nourishment of talent. Suddenly, within the span of a few months, there were many outstanding musicians huddled together in one country. Pakistan was in a sense a lucky destination – as Muslim vocalists and musicians migrated their due to their faith, and as it happened many leading practitioners happened to be Muslim. Due to their relative abundance, it was easier to identify the virtues of each and assess according to their strengths, as it should be, rather than to evaluate with one blanket and simplistic criteria. So much so that it was difficult to determine who was the best in the pack. At one time Pakistan had a plethora of top ranking vocalists and instrumentalists, appearing as though the river of creativity would never run out.