The Lahore Museum under the directive of the provincial government has completed the initial phase of dismantling the huge mural created by the legendary painter Sadequain affixed at the ceiling of the museum. The great master piece 100x35 was put at the height of 37 feet in 1974.
With the passage of time the art work was getting signs of depletion due to termite infestation, structural deterioration of canvas and tearing of paint layers etc. The government of Punjab sanctioned an amount of Rs 15 million for the restoration and preservation of the mural created by the world renowned painter of Pakistan.
Sadequain (1930-87) was a great painter and calligraphist. He was born in Amroha, India in a family of illustrated calligraphists. He however developed a taste for figurative painting also. After staying in Paris in his early career he came to Pakistan and held his first solo exhibition in Quetta. Hussain Shaheed Sohrwardy, the former prime minister of Pakistan introduced him to art circles and patronised him in his art activities. Very soon Sadequain earned name and fame in painting, calligraphy and mural creation.
He was a prolific creative genius with a strong intellectual resolution, devotion and commitment towards art. He never accepted the concept of art for art or art as an instrument of interior decoration for the rich and powerful segments of the society. Instead he always claimed and practised art as the most effective source of change in the society.
He introduced an altogether a new trend in the traditional calligraphy being practised in our society for centuries. It was creative or pictorial addition to the elementary units of a script enhancing the meaningfulness and aesthetic aspects of an artistic accomplishment. The Qura'nic calligraphy created by the artist heralded a new horizon of creativity in this genre. Sadequain also illustrated the poetic works of Ghalib, Iqbal and Faiz. He himself was a poet and created poetry in the genre of quartet form, which is called 'rubaaee'.
The murals made by Sadequain are the testimony of creative potentials of human being. The mural installed at the Mangla Dam in 1967 speaks itself the great endeavour of the artist. It carries the pictorial message of dignity of labour, commitment and devotion to a purpose and achievement of designated targets. He also created murals for Jinnah Hospital, Karachi, State Bank of Pakistan, Punjab University Library, Punjab Public Library, Lahore Museum and many other public places.
For the safeguard and restoration of Sadequain's mural at the Lahore Museum the government of the Punjab formed a technical committee with Salima Hashimi as it's chairperson. Renowned architect Nayyar Ali Dada, Fouzia Qureshi, head of architecture department NCA, Ghulam Mustafa, executive director, Punjab Art Council, Hasan Shah Nawaz Zaidi, former principal, Punjab University College of Art and Design, distinguished photographer Sami-ur-Rehman and Humera Alam, director Lahore Museum were included in the committee. The committee approached Pakistani and Indian experts of restoration of precious artwork. They included Sree Kumar Menon and Maninder Singh from India and Salima Hashimi, Usman Fayyaz, Mumtaz Husain, Muhammad Saeed and Faiqa Aslam from Pakistan.
With the persistent and laborious efforts the first phase of dismantling the huge mural has been completed. The actual work on the restoration and preservation of the mural would be commenced in near future. The art lovers of Lahore are anxiously awaiting the restoration of our art heritage created by Sadequain.
Cinema Culture: Following the announcement of Rs 50 million by the Prime Minister recently the government of the Punjab has also decided to waive off 65 percent entertainment tax on cinema for three years for the revival of film industry and trade in the country.
Cinema owners, film exhibitors and cine-goers have lauded the decision taken by the provincial government as it would help revive and flourish film and cinema culture in the country. People hope that with the waiving off the heavy entertainment tax the cinema owners would ensure to reduce the price of cinema tickets of all the categories, which is unaffordable for a common man. The cinema owners promised to do the same as it would be in their own interest to fetch more audience to their business.
This decision to waive tax was pending for a long time as the concerned circles were pushing their demands for their survival in the wake of deterioration of film industry and trade. During the preceding week a meeting between the Pakistan Exhibitors Association (PEA) and the officials of Punjab government was held at Alhamra Committee Hall here.
The government side was represented by Senator Pervez Rashid, Farah Deeba and Khawja Dawood, director general excise department while the PEA delegation was included Zohair Lashari, chairman, Shahbaz Khan, senior vice chairman, Safdar Khan, vice chairman and Sajjad Gul.
Zohair Lashari termed the government's decision as an injection to the ailing cinema trade. He said that the heavy taxing on the entertainment sector jeopardised it as numerous cinema houses were converted into markets and malls. The investors had lost their interest in the cinema business. He however lauded that present decision and hope it would motivate the concerned investors to restart their entertainment business.
The chairman PEA disclosed that the pending construction of three new cinema halls in the city would be revived soon. The concerned sections are eagerly awaiting the release of aid package of Rs 50 million recently promised by the Prime Minister. To the common movie lover. Some art lovers shown their concern regarding the irresponsible tendency of the cinema owners with regard to exhibition of foreign movies.
It may be recalled that presently most of the cinema houses are showing Indian films. The owners have a strong pretext of non availability of good local movies. It is time to have a joint consultative meeting amongst all the stake holders of film industry and trade to make a comprehensive plan of action so that a reasonable circle of supply and demand could be established. If it is not done, the decision of tax exemption would benefit either cinema owners or Indian movies.
Theatre workshop: A fortnight theatre workshop jointly held under the auspices of Punjab Lok Rehas and Comset is ended on August 9 here. The main objective of the event was to infuse awareness and impart theoretical and practical training to the budding artists. Over forty students hailing from various educational institutions and universities took part in the event.
Experts in different segments of theatrical arts including Dr Shahida, William Pervez, Asif Hoot, Dr Nighat Saeed, Shoaib Iqbal, Qaiser Abbas, Iram Sana and Huma Safdar taught the students in the areas of script writing, direction, production, acting, lighting and set designing etc. Besides Dr Sajida Vandal, Dr Ejaz Anwar, Dr Nizam-ud-Din, Noor Zohra, Shiraz Alam, Pervez Vandal, Dr Rafiq Ahmad and Shah Nawaz Zaidi visited as special guests and offered thought provoking consultation to the participants of the theatre workshop.
It is indeed an appreciable trend to organise cultural events and workshops on different segments of creative arts including documentary film making, music, singing and theatre in our educational institutions and universities. Such events offer opportunities to the young students to explore their inbuilt capabilities and creative pursuits, which ultimately help them build their personality with the characteristics of confidence, self-reliance and commitment to a purposeful life.
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