It is indeed a promising sign that the wave of women empowerment is getting its roots in almost all the spheres of life. The Rawalpindi Arts Council organised a beautiful exhibition of arts and crafts on November 19 at its premises. The work displayed there is the result of hard labour and dedication of the women students of the design department of the council.
The variety of exhibits include the genres like embroidery, decorative artifacts, fiberglass lamps, flower vases in ceramics, wall hangings in different shapes and colours, oil and water colour paintings, sketches, miniature paintings, and costumes with the blend of modernity and traditional touch. This nice collection could be termed as the potpourri of arts and crafts with a difference of quality, aesthetic and exposition of our cultural traditions.
The exhibits accomplished by art students including Tahreem, Nazia, Hira, Zahida, Anum and Abrashmina speaks the creative potential of the budding art students and their dedication and commitment to their work. It is hoped that with the proper regular guidance these students could make difference in the world of arts and crafts. It is usually complained that most of the female students abandoned their relationship with art in the post marital life thus turning themselves as dead wood creature. When few budding artists were asked to explain the situation, they were of the opinion that such trend has been changed now. Our society has quiet been enlightened and girls keep themselves busy in their art activities even after their marriage.
The exhibition was also carrying a good sign of interactivity between students and teachers. For this the initiative taken by Samra Hamayun is highly appreciative as she also put her multidimensional work along with her pupils. The art teacher displayed a number of her accomplishments including collage, fiberglass, ceramics, flower arrangements and mirror work. The colourful wall hangings with jute and beads were much liked by the spectators.
Some good exhibits by male artistes were also displayed on the occasion. Among those miniature work by eminent artist Najam Kazimi and 'paper machi' items by Zulfiqar were appreciated.
The chief guest on the occasion was CDA chairman Imtiaz Inayat Ilahi. He lauded the efforts of the budding artists and promised all out support for RAC's commitment for the promotion and projection of indigenous arts and culture.
Children day and arts:
The 20th day of November each year is being celebrated as the International Day of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Pakistan is also a signatory to the convention. Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), National Book Foundation (NBF) and the Global Peace Poineers (GPP) organised memorable cultural events during the week.
It may be recalled that almost 50 percent of our population comprises of children. Over 25 million children in our country are deprived of basic education while almost 10 million kids are engaged in labour work where they are totally exposed to all sorts of intimidation including physical and sexual abuse. The majority of child population is suffering from under nutrition syndrome. The alarming situation demands a caring behaviour of the society towards child population.
The event at FJWU was meant for screening of documentary films provided by the UNICEF. The faculty of communication sciences put its all out efforts to make it a success. The documentary films shown on the occasion successfully depicted different aspects of the child life with its complexities and intricacies.
The medium of film is considered one of the most effective sources to enhance the awareness and wisdom with regard to the socio-cultural uplift in a society. As far as the genre of documentary film is concern it deemed most realistic and authentic source to describe certain issue. The brief documentaries shown on the occasion were well knitted and directed with technical skills and aestheti.
Most of the students witnessed the films were highly appreciative of the standard of the films and viewed that such efforts should be continued as a useful source for enhancing awareness with regard to the rights of children in our country. It is of utmost importance that the builders of our future must be given proper attention and patronage of the society with regard to their nutrition, education, clothing and personality building.
The GPP held a cultural show at a village Tarnol in the vicinity of the capital. Students from different educational institutions of public and private sectors including madrassas and seminaries along with their teachers and parents participated in the event. There were artistically prepared tableaus, skits, sketches and drawings, which spoke the talent, dedication of the kids and patronage of the teachers and parents alike. The young kids were so confident in their presentation that one could foresee a promising future of our nation. All the items presented on the occasion were revolved around the basic rights of a child including proper nourishment, education, health care and safety of life, honour and dignity.
The NBF arranged a two-day (November 20-21) book fair to mark the occasion with participation of several book sellers from private sector along with a variety of titles concerning the children. A special discount up to 40 percent was offered to facilitate the children and parents so that they could get maximum number of desired titles of their choice. While inaugurating the fair education Minister Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani emphasised, 'reading books is essential for children as it helps them develop initiative, originality and character building besides providing varied entertainment, motivation and education.'
He also urged the need of promoting the good literature meant for children. Lack of it ultimately harms the promotion of reading culture amongst the new generation. 'A child seeks meanings in his/her day to day life and wants to unfold the mysteries of wonderful world of nature and intricacies of human relations and reading books lay a sound foundation for a better tomorrow,' he concluded.
In the wake of growing culture of modern IT gadgets it is of utmost importance that all concerned segments of society should come forward to save our centuries old culture of book reading especially for the children who are ultimately the builder and custodian of our future.
Silk weaving craft: The Asian Study Group (ASG) organised a display of silk woven articles along with a meaningful talk on the historical perspective of the weaving craft in our country.
The historical land of Pakistan is known for its wonderful arts and crafts the world over. The experience and expertise of its craftsmen earned during the long span of time attaches an eminence to their products. The focal person of the event Ambreen Hayat gave a brief discourse about the silk weaving to the audience. The craft of silk weaving in our country dates back to 4000 year. The ancient civilisation of Moenjodaro motivated people to refine their life style and costume, which with the passage of time remained in progress and evolutionary process.
The Mughal kingdom gave maximum patronage to the fine arts and crafts along with people attached to this sector. The craftsmen developed their skills and modes of craft and introduced a variety of weaving products. The silk weavers hailing from Khairpur, Sindh presented a variety of their accomplishments in form of 'saries' and suit pieces with rich colours and most impressive patterns.
Most of the people viewed that our government and its concerned segments should come forward for the protection, promotion and marketing of our centuries old silk crafts. It is hoped that Lok Virsa, Ministry of Textile, University of Textile, Faisalabad, Arts and Crafts Council of Pakistan and Pakistan National Council of the Arts would take some purposeful initiative in this regard.
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