Ancient hertage echoed in the parliament: It was a day (February 21) when our parliamentarians too were engaged in talking, l even shouting, over the issue of the primitive civilisations of Moenjodaro, Harappa and Ghandhara, which are rightly described as the ancient abode of the people of Pakistan and their cultural heritage as well.
The uproar was caused by a call attention notice served by five members of MMA, a six-party politico cleric alliance, with regard to the teachings of pre-Islamic history in educational institutions.
Responding to the notice Anisa Zeb Tahirkhaili, Minister of State for Education, asserted that the religious parties' move would keep students ignorant of the grandeur of the subcontinent's history, such as the Indus valley or Ghandhara civilisations. Instantly, a voice of dissension echoed in the National Assembly.
"That may be your history, (but)...our history (starts) from Makkah and Medina," It was Dr Farid Ahmad Piracha of Jamaat-e-Islami, who said this before staging a walkout.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES: The past is the irrevocable phenomenon which no a power could not erase from the pages of history. In fact it is the process of continuity, which shapes the evolution of peoples cultural identity and heritage. Geography, history and ideology stand as the constituent elements of a culture.
This fact could be witnessed in the diversity of cultures in Muslim societies all over the world. Even the Holy Quran gives a detailed account of non- Muslim societies and the pre Islamic period, including the people who had denied the teachings of Prophets. There is an eye opener example with regard to the Pharaoh, a few moments prior to his drowning.
YEAR 2007 - VISIT TO PAKISTAN: All the nations of the world, including the Islamic bloc, especially Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Indonesia, attach great importance to their past history and heritage. As the custodian of the world's most ancient civilisations, Pakistan also understands its obligations with regard to the preservation of its cultural heritage. 2007 has been declared as the "Visit to Pakistan" year.
A grand week- long Ghandhara extravaganza is scheduled at Taxila from March 26 to 31. Being one of the great seats of learning in the past, with special reference to the Buddah. It is expected that the Ghandhara festival would attract a large number of tourists from all over the globe, including Japan, China, Korea, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal and India. " We have planned to develop all sorts of tourism having archeological, religious, scenic, mountainous significance." Salim Gul Sheikh, Federal Secretary culture, told me after reviewing the arrangements of the festival at Taxila.
KATAS RAJ FESTIVAL: In addition to Taxila, the capital city of Islamabad is surrounded by numerous sites of cultural heritage and archaeological significance, including Katas Raj temple, situated over a hundred kilometers from here at the base of Pothohar plateau in the salt range. The 5000 year old temple is a place famous for the annual festival attributed to Maha Shiv Ratri held here last week. "It is the second most sacred place of Hindu community in Pakistan due to its primitiveness and significance of religious rituals." It was described by Brij Mohan Gupta, Chairman Hindu Cultural and Heritage Society, UK who was attending the festival along with a massive number of 'yatrees' from all over the world.
The government of Pakistan and the Archaelogical Department of Punjab made wonderful arrangements to make the festival a true occasion for Pakistan's Hindu community as part of our policy of peaceful coexistence, tolerance and goodwill. An amount of Rs 109 million has been allocated for the restoration and preservation of the temple according to Hindu rituals, design and format. A museum and library would also be built here in the near future. It is hoped that the ancient place would soon become the hub of tourists from all over the world and would also boost the local economy.
REMEMBERING JOSH MALIHABADI: Shabbir Hussain Josh Malihabadi (1896-1982) was one of the great poets of our nation. A commemorative literary session was arranged on February 22 at Pakistan Academy of Letters here to pay tribute to the valuable contribution of the poet to the creative repository of our country.
Josh earned respect for his revolutionary poetry during the colonial period, relentlessly voicing his voice against the oppressive and tyrannical forces inflicting socio economic injustices on the poor and downtrodden people of the society.
His visionary insight, virtues of imagination, poetic eloquence, gigantic diction, melodious composition and the richness of contents elevated him to the rank of world's stalwarts in the domain of poetry, including Iqbal, Goethe, Dante and Keats. It is, however, ironic that Josh has not been exposed through translation of his work in world languages.
In the meeting people enjoying high profile positions even in the present regime were just uttering pathetic rhetoric with regard to the poet's excellence and his accomplishments. After the meeting people were lamenting as to who have deterred the men in authority to revive the literary stature of Josh. N one would descend from the heaven to fulfil the unfinished agenda they could not furnish.
CARTOON CREATURES: In the wake of soothing colors of emerging spring Nageen Hayat of Nomad has been displaying colorful exhibitions representing almost all the mediums and generations of artists at her prestigious gallery. The latest on-going event is adorned with the seventy masterpieces created by Fieca, the cartoonist.
Rafique, widely known as Fieca, has earned eminence in the realm of cartoon caricatures. During his long association with journalism he has developed a sharp eye for reading between the lines and also to decipher the hidden realities which otherwise never surface to the limelight. In Pakistan's journalism Nanna ( Anwar Ali), Mir Sahib, Maxim ( Shaukat Mahmood) Shahtoon( Akhtar Shah), Gogi ( Nigar Nazar) and Zahoor have made their valuable inputs through thought provoking cartoons. It is, however Fieca, who has developed his own individualistic versatility with sharp sense of satire on socio-political issues. His lines often play the role of sharp edge of a sword on the hypocrisy, nepotism and other socio-political evils.
The present exhibition reflects a variety of odds badly clinging to various segments of our society. His critical presentation on the acts of obscurantism, horsetrading and political rowdiness carries satire and sarcasm to its height. His art projects the in-built vividness and vigor lying within the simple lines he draws on a sheet of paper. It comes true to most of his cartoon work displayed in the exhibition.
RUMI: THE MYSTIC MESSENGER OF PEACE:
Jalal-ud-Din Rumi (1207-73) a legendary saint and mystic poet is very much 'in' here these days as the government backed National Sufi Council with the President of Pakistan as its patron in chief and the head and the secretary of the ruling party are the flag bearers of this newly born platform. Otherwise, as far as Rumi is concerned, his outstanding mystic poetry never needs any official sponsorship.
This week witnessed two important occasions attributed to this great saint, a lecture by Senator Mushahid Hussain on February 25 under the joint auspices of Sufi Council and Rumi Forum and an evening of whirling dance on February 26 by the Pakistan National Council of the Arts in collaboration with the council at Convention Center.
It will be recalled that Rumi has always been enjoying a place within the hearts of scholars of great eminence. Professor E. G. Browne, in his commentary says " Without doubt the most eminent Sufi poet Rumi Persia has produced, while his mystical Mathnawi deserves to rank amongst the great poems of all time".
Professor R. A. Nicholson views him as "the greatest mystical poet of any age". Iqbal always acknowledged his indebtedness to the great visionary as his mentor and " the world of today needs a Rumi to create an attitude of hope, and to kindle the fire of enthusiasm for life."
And Mushahid Hussain, in his discourse. was projecting the same message of hope and enlivened spark required to achieve the cherished destiny of peace, progress and prosperity. He established relevance of Rumi with the present day national and international scenario with these words" As a spiritual mentor his principles support tolerance, reasoning, goodness and charity." It is appreciable that the Unesco has declared 2007 as the year of Rumi.
The whirling dance and raqs-e-darweshan was a real spiritual treat to the highest sublimation for the viewers (February 26) at Convention Center. The dancing artists were so deeply absorbed into their art that it seemed they were just translating the meanings of Rumi's poetry into their physical rhythmic movements. Rumi says:
-- (Holy) men dance and wheel on the (spiritual) battlefield, they dance in their own blood.
-- When they are free from the hand (dominion) of self;
-- They clap a hand; When they escape from their own imperfection;
-- They make a dance. From within them musicians strike the tambourine;
-- At their ecstasy the seas burst into foam.
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