Pak Tea House

SHALI in ISLAMABAD on March 25, 2008 @ NOMAD

Originally uploaded by *abro*

SHANAAKHT - A Nomad Forum for the Arts

Screening of SHALI a telefilm from the powerful series Aseer Shahzadi produced by HUM Television…

A touching story pertaining to abuse against women in our male dominated society with regard to child marriages. The issues presented in these plays are of universal concern, with women being the victims of these evil practices. Sensitive issues are brought forward to make people realize the severity of the prevailing injustices to females. Shali, the 14 year old protagonist, a mere child living in the city’s slums, has no clue what it entails to be married…..

Written by Attiya Dawood, well known writer, activist and poet…have dealt with each story in a thoughtful and sensitive manner which is typical of her writings. SHALI will move your hearts and make you think and hopefully do something for these distressed and troubled souls. (more…)

Posted by Fiza Ishaq 

“Moving away from the thematic conventions practiced so laboriously in the academic studio, Mudasser Manzoor casts around for ideas close to his heart.

Not letting go of these early bonds of tradition, he engages with both philosophical and emotional concerns.

Clearly these are contradictions to be encountered. He explores the influence of Sufi thought on the visual image. Solitary figures are lost in contemplation, disengaged from the world, yet very much part of it’s alluring beauty.

Although the artist aspires to reach that moment of complete oneness, the human presence draws him back. The female presence is a physical one…… Manzoor revels in the majesty of nature.

The skills so carefully honed in the miniature studio are brought to the fore; the palette is masterly, the surface treated like a jewel”  - Salima Hashmi 

More images below ——–

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by Fiza Ishaq

Gulgee’s Nuktas, are the mystic symbols of the unity of the universe, and the energy, which ties humans to the universal force. (more…)

temporal 

The first ever-commissioned play to be telecast in the subcontinent in November 1964 was written by Enver Sajjad. He was bestowed with Pride of Performance in 1989 for his valuable work in literature. And he got the ECO Award of Excellence 2004 in history, literature and culture. His screenplay are so deftly written that a prolific writer like Ashfaq Ahmed once confessed that he learned to write screenplay from Enver Sajjad

I was at Riaz Rafi’s studio apartment one evening. Rafi as he likes to be called is an artist with a nagging conscience. I was in the midst of doing an in-depth profile of him. (project shelved indefinitely–cannot get permission to use some quotes.) (more…)

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Mohsin Hamid’s latest op-ed is pretty good. Recommended reading for anyone who wants to know how things looked/look from the perspective of the every day life in Pakistan. You can read it here, on the Washington Post site. (more…)

What a sad day ….

KARACHI, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Ismail Gulgee, Pakistan’s most prominent artist, was found murdered on Wednesday along with his wife and a maid in their Karachi home, police said. He was 81. They said the three were found gagged in different rooms of the house, which is in the city’s most upmarket district. The hands of his wife, Zarina, were tied. “All three were suffocated. This happened around three days ago,” said senior Karachi police officer Asif Ejaz Sheikh. He said Gulgee’s body was found in the bedroom, his wife’s body in the kitchen and the maid in the main hall. The bodies were found by police after a neighbour complained of a bad smell. Gulgee trained as an engineer in the United States before turning to painting works of modern art. He won various awards. After starting out as a portrait painter, he turned to more abstract painting and became interested inIslamic calligraphy. He produced numerous works using the different names of Allah, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York said on its Web site (www.metmuseum.org). “In these textural works, Gulgee brings the Islamic calligraphy tradition to the modern practice of action painting such as that developed by the American artist Jackson Pollock,” the museum said. President Pervez Musharraf said on his Web site Gulgee was his “all-time favourite” artist. Musharraf condemned the killings, state television reported. Gulgee was born in Peshawar in 1926. His son, Amin Gulgee, is a well-known sculptor. (Reporting by Imtiaz Shah; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Grant McCool)

Image credit

Came across this pointed though strongly worded post by Danial, where he urges Pakistanis to stop the vandalism against pre-Islamic heritage.

“As if the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues wasn’t enough, fanatical mullahs and their constituents from Swat in the Northwest Frontier province attempt[ed] to blow up yet another statue in the name of their twisted version of Islam which is quite alien to the Subcontinent……

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A question of the Human Rights Agenda (more…)

by Raza Rumi

The art world of Pakistan is not given the attention it deserves. But amends are being made. Arts Pakistan, or Artspak, is a recently developed website, with an exclusive collection of videos, paintings and photographs that depicts the country’s vibrant art scene. (more…)

by Shaheryar Ali

The independence of art — for the revolution.

The revolution — for the complete liberation of art!” (more…)

By Mystic Soul

Woh Sahilon pe gaane wale kiya huwa

Woh kashtian chalane wale kiya huwe (more…)