Pakistan Day always coincides with the blossoming spring symbolising the aspirations and indomitable resolution of the people to build a society on the cherished values emanating from their cultural heritage, based on peace, progress and prosperity.
The preceding week stood distinctive with regard to the Pakistan Day celebrations. It envisaged heritage renditions, art and cultural shows and literary gatherings.
This year the armed forces parade was also studded with exhibition of cultural life of the land through the artistically erected floats representing artistic and innovative pursuits of artists and artisans of all the regions of Pakistan, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The artists presented folk dances to the accompaniment of indigenous musical instruments to enthrall the big crowds of people gathered there.
Anjum returns with colourful glittering: Anjum Ayub made a ' return of she' after a lapse of over six years as far as her solo exhibition is concerned. As the name suggests she glitters through her subtle and bright colors in form of her fresh prints displayed here at Nomad Art Gallery (March 24). She is a prolific artist enjoying ease to paint in oil and water colors with her special taste for printmaking in a number of techniques and processes, including roller and printing texture, roller and monoprint, sugar lift, intaglio and aquatint. The ongoing exhibition of Anjum's 38 exhibits speak about the high sensibilities of the artist and her craftsmanship in synthesising the content, technique and space. Some of the prints demonstrate the artist's in-depth study of human psyche as well as the ambience he lives in.
One of the prints shows her own odyssey through time tunnel. It beautifully combines the era of innocence, adolescence and maturity of a person. Anjum has also developed a special taste for our decaying heritage in the area of architecture and household. She shows her great concern over the negligence of civil society and its relevant institutions.
Her figurative work co relating with the perspective of ancient architectural motifs could be termed superb and exquisite. While sharing her thoughts with this scribe over a cup of tea in the beautifully designed lawn of the nomad gallery Anjum spoke in her most charming tone" I am a very humble student of visual arts adhering to the God-gifted virtue of creativity.
I do believe in aesthetic, harmony and composition. I love my personal as well as socio cultural and national identity. It is my sole source of inspiration. Address confronting issues and invite people to see those through colors, mediums and styles. Art is the most powerful and multi dimensional instrument to cater one's own sublimation as well as collective whole of the society.
Born artists: It is a matter of satisfaction that the capital city is gradually becoming the seat of learning in numerous faculties including visual arts. The Hunerkada of Jamal Shah is one standing as distinctive. March 22 was the day when thesis works by three student artists of the institution, namely Rafia Qasim, Rabia Iftikhar and Manan Hafeez were put on display.
A bird's-eye view was enough to adjudge the exhibits as wonderful having a promising future for the artists. The content, technique and style in oneness putting forth the evidence of insight, devotion and dedication our new generation invests in its assignments. The grandeur and splendour of nature is focused by Rafia Qasim who comments" nature is the prime source of inspiration for me. I pick all my symbols and motifs from nature and reshape those through my own innovative process."
Rafia has also excelled in interior designing. She usually uses rot iron, wood and metal as medium to shape her imagination into tangible forms. She has developed special interest in designing furniture with a difference of structural beauty and aesthetic.
Rabia Iftikhar's thesis revolves around the title " journey". It is in fact an evolutionary process of the artist's own experiences full of sorrows and joys. She makes portraits with deep study of her model and successfully depicts the inner self of a person.
"Tourism in Islamabad" is the title of Manan Hafeez's thesis. He has chosen photographic rendition as his art form. Manan says, " Days are gone by when the photography was dubbed as the mechanical activity rather than a creative art. Now the world over, it is understood that photography too enjoys the status of creative art as it requires the vision and wisdom of the eye behind the camera. And that eye represents the creative photographer himself/herself."
The photographs displayed in the exhibition highlight some most impressive aspects of the capital city which were still undiscovered. The composition of the exhibits and the artistic treatment given is remarkable. Some viewers opined that the institutions responsible for the management of the city should take a lesson from the exhibits in promoting the Islamabad tourism for Pakistani nationals and well as foreigners.
PROMOTING BOOK READING CULTURE: 'Iqra' was the very first Divine revelation having multi dimensional meanings of reading, study, research, vision and wisdom to be utilised for the welfare of humanity. What to speak of our negligence that Muslim world at large and we the Pakistanis have gradually been getting apart from the book culture, a meaningful source of all sorts of knowledge and know-how.
With the advent of new gadgets in the areas of information technology it is said that the reading habit has suffered the most. It is, however, encouraging that Pakistan Academy of Letters and National Library of Pakistan have come forward to readress the issue.
A book fair was organised on March 21 by Pakistan Academy of Letters with a variety of contents and genres and quality production at its premises. Dr Saeeda Saadullah, Vice Chancellor of Fatima Jinnah Women University and the chief guest on the occasion, was critical about our collective behavior of copying the west in all evils but not in its research pursuits.
Iftikhar Arif, chairman PAL hoped that such book fair would inculcate reading habit in the new generation and intelligentias at large. The books at the fairs were offered at reduced rates to facilitate the readership.
All Pakistan libraries conference: The National Library of Pakistan, in collaboration with Pakistan Library Association, organised a three-day conference on the subject on March 26 here. A consensus emerged out of the deliberations by Salim Saifullah, Federal minister for provincial coordination, Mohammad Nazir director general, directorate of libraries and Sain Mohammad Malik, president of library association for the revival of our adherence the knowledge and reading culture in the society. It was encouraging to know that at presently there are over 28,000 public libraries in the country.
The question is: what is the quantum of readership therein? Would the civil society and the concerned institutions ponder over it? Could it be possible for us to infuse the spirit of book culture in our daily life, so we could again retain our historical status of the most enlightened society enjoying the vision and wisdom and having the legacy of world's most ancient civilisations nurtured on our soil.
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