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This week the most prestigious spot in the capital, in the vicinity of the Parliament, remained in focus with reference to the constitutional debate on the issue of suspension of the Chief Justice and the state of the art complex of the National Art Gallery due to be inaugurated very soon, expectedly by the President of Pakistan.
It is ironic when the National Art Gallery complex remained in shambles for over a quarter of a century as a glaring symbol of gross neglect and complete failure, most of the self-acclaimed art stalwarts kept aloof, proving the proverb that failure never owns any successor but the success does have several claimants.
The same could be seen through the ongoing criticism being hurled from different quarters with the undesired 'dos and donts'. Rather one should appreciate Naeem Tahir, an eminent artist in his own right and the chief executive of Pakistan National Council of the Arts, who dug up the incomplete project of National Art Gallery out of the swamp and translated the forgotten idea into reality.
"The whole credit goes to President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Federal Culture Minister Dr G. G. Jamal who extended all-out patronage for the accomplishment of the state of the art complex of the National Art Gallery. The location itself speaks of the significance of the cultural heritage and the fine arts and its relevance to the supreme body of elected representatives of the people, the real custodians of national cultural identity," said Naeem Tahir in his usual humble posture.
It will be recalled that the announcement of constructing the National Art Gallery was made by the then President Zia-ul-Haq on April 5, 1978. The PC-1 was approved by the ECNEC for Rs 100.251 million, including FEC Rs 8.939 million on May 24, 1989. Due to the delay in completion and with the passage of time the cost of the project escalated to Rs 456 million.
The National Art Gallery is built on the spacious area of 18,000 square yards with over 13 galleries with the addition of adjacent display areas, one indoor auditorium having seating capacity of 450 persons and an open air theatre with equal facilities. Both the auditorium and open air theatre would be equipped with the most modern and advance gadgets required for any performance of international scale. There is a big semi-circular area meant for the management offices, storage and restaurant.
The National Art Gallery would primarily maintain the valuable repository of national heritage in the form of masterpieces of visual arts created by the eminent painters during pre- and post- independence era reflecting all modes of styles, mediums, contents and undercurrent movements. At present the gallery owns over half a thousand art pieces of its own. For the acquisition of more exhibits PNCA has got the services of a number of curators enjoying good reputation in the field of visual arts.
There would be a library with the most prestigious literature on national and international art and culture. It would help art enthusiasts, students and researchers for their learning and undertaking research projects. The art circles and artist community extend its felicitations to Naeem Tahir for the accomplishment of the mega project of National Art Gallery. They, however, reiterate the negligence-free proper maintenance of this prestigious symbol of national heritage during the post inauguration period.
The Neglected Heritage: The negligence towards our national heritage is a common phenomenon in our country. Within the administrative limits of the Rawalpindi district, there stands a historical mausoleum of Shahabuddin Ghouri, the founder Muslim ruler of the sub continent, hailing from the Gour province of Afghanistan who established his dynasty here about eight centuries back. The credit goes to our nuclear hero Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan who revived the glory of neglected grave of the great Muslim ruler of the past and generated funds for construction of a magnificent mausoleum of Shahabuddin depicting his courage and valor with the added beauty of Muslim architecture in early 90s.
Within a decade's time the building has been marred by cracks at several spots. It is ironical that mostly the concerned officials remained absent from their duty. The visitors showed their concern and urged the district administration as well as the department of archaeology to come out of their lethargy for preserving a national heritage, about which these agencies make fabulous rhetorics which is just a lip service.
REPATRIATION OF STOLEN ARTIFACTS:
It is indeed a matter of collective guilt for us on account of criminal negligence in protecting the national heritage and artifacts of historical worth. On March 8, a ceremony was held here at Sir Syed Memorial for the handing over of 38 most precious stolen artifacts to Dr G. G. Jamal, federal minister for culture by the US Ambassador in Pakistan. This whole consignment relates to the Gandhara civilisation dating back to the first century.
The art repository reflects different moods and postures of Buddha. Some utensils, including a cup of second century are part of the artifacts. The delicacy, fineness and craftsmanship of the past period is marvellous and leaves an everlasting imprint on the viewer. It will be recalled that the most valuable part of our heritage was stolen in the recent past, apparently with the collaborative misdeeds of outlaws, archaeological department and customs authorities.
It is a fact that a group of criminals with the help of some local unscrupulous craftsmen have been engaged in the theft at most of heritage museums all over the country. To deceive the public they made replicas with the technique of some old artificial artifacts and put them in place of the stolen ones. As far as these stolen artifacts are concerned it is known that those were grabbed from the north western archaeological sites and collection houses and sent to USA for a handsome amount.
The homeland security of USA seized it in New York in September 2005. However, these have been returned to Pakistani now. US Ambassador Ryan C Crocker was of the view that "it is very rich and historical collection beyond price and we are very happy to have played a role in restoring the legacy to the country that produced it".
The federal minister for culture G. G. Jamal commented "No country should be denied their cultural identity and cultural wealth." A query to the minister. Could he please peep into his own ministry and its attached archaeological departments and bring the black sheep to task. A general sense of pride over and belonging to the national heritage is the most required commodity which is otherwise unknown to us.
LITERATI CELEBRATE WOMEN'S DAY: As usual some events including a walk, traditional speeches, skits and discussions were held here to mark the International Women Day.
The conference of literary women organised by Pakistan Academy of Letters stood distinct among all. Zaitoon Bano, a name of eminence in Pushtu and Urdu literature, was the chief guest on the occasion. She rightly made an inquiry. "Why only a day in a year for women" and she answered back. "All days are ours as we are the custodians of present as well as future of humanity in all respects, in all segments of life." Zaitoon Bano further said that it is a matter of pleasure that women have got more awareness about their entity, legacy and destiny. Poetess Shabnam Shakeel presided over the event.
She opined that feminine entity enjoys an inbuilt vigor and strength but it is the male dominating socio-cultural fabric which discourages it. She hoped that women of modern time would not allow mens to treat them rudely. She claimed that women work hard and contribute more for a just society.
Farkhanda Lodhi, Punjabi and Urdu novelist, and Safia Shamim, Urdu poetess, also spoke about the dignity of women in the socio-cultural perspective. In the backdrop of international women day activities, citizens of the capital showed concern over discrimination against women, despite "progress".
This invites world attention to adopt some concrete methods for the emancipation of women all over the world.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2007

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