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Interview
The Indomitable
Malahat Awan
By Sumeha Khalid Malahat Awan is a renowned name in the world of arts. Daughter of Shabnam Shakeel, a wellrespected Urdu poet, Malahat had always been ensconced in an artistic environment. With well-known literary personalities regularly visiting her place she soon developed a liking, later on a
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passion, for classical music. Malahat Awan is President of the Tehzeeb Foundation, a body that is helping literature, fine arts and traditional music attain their rightful place in the Pakistani society. Recently Tehzeeb Foundation launched ‘Indus Raag’ – a
prestigious music project and Tehzeeb Festival 2012, which was a massive hit. Pakistan Today caught up with the beautiful Malahat and found out more about her passion – music. Here are the excerpts of the interveiw.
Q: How and when did you come 700 people each time for the past went up to 2500 (at Faiz Centenary up with the idea of Tehzeeb few years. The highest number of Celebration 2012 in Karachi). All Foundation? people attending our programmes such programmes were aired on different TV channels A: Literature, Fine Arts thereby exposing their and traditional music in talent to millions of people Pakistan are suffering from Our festivals/recitals and others programmes in our country. have featured some of the leading musicians general apathy, neglect and of Pakistan and rest of the world, including indifference. Our musicians the following: Indus raag is one of our are exposed to all kinds of most prestigious projects adversity. They usually belong From India: Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt completed over the last to the most marginalized (a Grammy Awards winner) , Ustad Raza three years. It has been sections of the society. They Ali Khan, Kamal Sabri, late Ustad Asad Ali produced in the shape of an normally don’t have any Khan, Mazhar Ali Khan and Jawwad Ali artistically designed box-set other means of livelihood Khan, Sohail Rais Khan, Vidya Shah, Seema containing 12 high quality except for their art. Classical Sehgal and others. audio CDs and a booklet music in Pakistan is not a about classical music and commercial commodity and From USA: Ustad Abdul Sattar Tari (Tabla), musicians. It features 26 is rarely marketable. The Shakeela Ahmed (vocal) and Akhlaque main performers (and a artists throughout Pakistan Hussain (Sitar) host of their accompanists) are living in deplorable from all over the world. conditions and are trying From UK: Shahbazh Hussain – Tabla Over 50 tracks, spread to preserve their art and over 13+ hours of quality heritage. Classical musicians From Germany: Ashraf Sharif Khan - Sitar music, have been selected in Pakistan are not given due out of high grade, edited, respect by the society and From France: Abaji mastered and finalized the music has suffered from recordings. It gives the a tragic lack of attention From Pakistan: listener’s a variety of raagfrom the public. Musicians based genres – kheyal, are exposed to poverty and Ustad Fateh Ali Khan – Patiala gharana tarana, thumri, dadra and adversity. Compared to their kafi. counterparts in other parts Ustad Rais Khan – Sitar We have also arranged of the world, Pakistani artists literary sittings featuring are often forced to support Ustad Fateh Ali Khan – Hyderabad famous intellectuals themselves through menial from Pakistan and India. labor. Ustad Naseeruddin Saami - Karachi We have sponsored our This was the background and musicians and poets/men need for setting up Tehzeeb Ustad Mubarik Ali Khan - Lahore of letters to give public Foundation. Tehzeeb appearances in India. We Foundation through its Ustad Bashir Khan - Karachi have also facilitated Indian projects is trying to create artistes and film-makers to an enabling environment for Ustad Zafar Ali Khan (late) - Karachi explore Pakistani society art, literature and the artist and art. in Pakistan. Javed Bashir & Akbar Ali - Lahore Tehzeeb Foundation has been archiving music Q: What are the objectives Rustam Fateh Ali Khan - Lahore including classical music of Tehzeeb Foundation? produced in Pakistan, A: Tehzeeb Foundation Ustad Hamid Ali Khan – Lahore India and UK for reference has been created with the purpose. We have also mandate of preservation Ustad Gulzar Ali khan - Sanghar collected unpublished and archiving of classical music and have digitalized music and arts in Pakistan. Ustad Altaf Hussain Tafoo (Tabla) – Lahore it for archival purposes. Tehzeeb Foundation through Our music and other its projects is trying to create Ustad Mehfooz Khokhar – Islamabad publications are widely an enabling environment for distributed throughout art, literature and artists in Ustad Nazeer Khan – Hyderabad Pakistan and abroad Pakistan. by Liberty Books - our Zulfiqar Ali & Mazhar Hussain – Hyderabad distribution partners. Q: What milestones has the foundation achieved so far? and many others. Q: Your favourite literary A: We have arranged music person and why? festivals attended by over
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do you like? A: I listen to classical music a lot, but also like semi classical. Q: Do you think classical music has any future in Pakistan? A: Yes it has and it must survive. The oral tradition of our music has developed through the ‘gurushishya’ or ‘teacher-student’ system. Our literature and fine arts have survived and flourished despite socio-political turbulence. This music has roots in the cultural ethos and aesthetical consciousness of our sub continent and has limitless possibilities of future development, if given proper nurturing and an enabling environment. Q: What else do you do besides being involved in the foundation? A: I work for the British Consulate in Karachi. I look after corporate services and Finance.
A: My mother Shabnam Shakeel is a very established and well respected urdu Poet. I have been exposed to literature, fine arts and music at a very young age through her and for that I am grateful to her. We had people like Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Munir Niazi, Perveen Shakir, Iftikhar Arif, Zehra Nigha, Mushtaq Ahmed Yousafi, Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, to name some, visiting our house all the time and I would be like a sponge, eager to absorb what they had to say or recite.
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Q: Who’s your favourite musician? A: I am really fond of Fateh Ali Khan/ Amanat Ali Khan (Patliawale) and Roshan Ara Begum. Q: Do you play any musical instrument? A: Unfortunately no. It requires a lot of time and with a full time profession and Tehzeeb’s work, I don’t have that time. Q: Personally what sort of music
Q: A mother, wife and a working woman... how do you do it all? A: I saw my mother juggle a profession, family, create beautiful poetry and hold it all together. I am very lucky because Sharif is a very supporting husband and I have extremely understanding kids who encourage me. Our kids also share our love for arts; hence it is easier for me. At times it is difficult like once I was in China for a meeting and Sharif was in Islamabad and my youngest daughter had her sports day. She called me and she said, while other children showed their sport skills to their parents, I showed it to plants and trees as you both were not there! Q: What do you think are the reasons you and Sharif Awan make a successful team? A: We have a common love and passion for arts. If only one of us was passionate and the other one was mildly interested in preservation of arts, then I feel that it would have impacted the way we deliver.
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Art
Landscapes by the masters This assortment of paintings was the first and biggest ever collection of this genre, displayed under one roof.
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ollege of Art and Design, University of the Punjab, in collaboration with the Lahore Museum mounted an exhibition of paintings under the title of “Landscapes, Cityscapes and related Conceptual Paintings� at The Contemporary Painting Gallery of the Lahore Museum. This exhibition was to honour the teachers and graduates of the College of Art
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and Design, University of the Punjab for their important role in the creation of the modern Pakistani Landscape Painting tradition. The artists whose work has been displayed were: Ustad Alla Bakhsh, Muhammad Hussain Hanjra, Khalid Iqbal, Zulqarnain Haider, Mughees Riaz, Kaleem Khan, Ghulam Rasul, Shahid Jalal, Mian Ejaz ul Hasan, Anna Molka Ahmad, Naseem Hafeez Qazi, Ghulam Mustafa, Zulfiqar Ali Zulfi, Dr. Ajaz Anwar, Abd al-
Rehman Chughtai, Moyene Najmi, Musarrat Mirza, Zubeda Javed, Khalid Mahmud, Musarrat Hassan, Iqbal Hussain, Rahat Naveed Masud, Kehkashan Jafri, Maliha Azami Aga, Quddus Mirza, Durre Waseem, Naela Amir, Munawar Mohiudin, Amjad Naeem, Mirza Matloob Baig, Iqbal Khokhar, Muhammad Arshad and Anila Zulfiqar. This exhibition was curated by Dr. Rahat Naveed Masud and Dr. Barabara Schmitz and was very unique, as well as of historic value, as it presented a chronological and historical journey of the Landscape Painting in Pakistan, starting from 1947 to date. This assortment of painting was the first and biggest ever collection of this genre, displayed under one roof. The Vice Chancellor of the University of the Punjab, Dr. Mujahid Kamran, was the chief guest at the occasion, and faculty members, dignitaries and artists were present at this event. He applauded this endeavour and appreciated the efforts of the curators. The unique and historic exhibition came to its close amidst an aura of applause and appreciation on the last day of the previous year.
This exhibition was unique and of immeasurable historic value, as it presented a chronological and historical journey of the Landscape Painting in Pakistan, starting from 1947 to date.
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Films
Dabangg2
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s a quick-fix lyrical device, Zandu balm is probably only a hop, skip and jump away from Fevicol adhesive. But the move from Malaika Arora Khan to Kareena Kapoor is nothing less than a quantum leap. The Dabangg item number had worked wonders for both Munni and the brand, but the bonding agent that the sensuous danseuse extols in the sequel does not quite stick. So, the obvious question: is Dabangg 2 really twice as nice as the original action flick that made giant waves in 2010? Well, for one, the follow-up has been mounted on a far more lavish scale: its budget is nearly double that of the precursor. This film might also end up raking in a much larger box office booty than Dabangg did. But assessed strictly as a pure entertainer designed for instant mass
gr atif ication, it isn’t half as successful. But make no mistake. Dabangg 2 is every inch of the way the critic-proof film that it is meant to be. No matter how many holes you might spot in its uncomplicated, wafer-thin narrative e d i f i c e , Bollywood’s most bankable megastar’s onscreen deeds, at a bit of a stretch, would serve to paper over all of them. T h e protagonist, as is well known, is a one-man demolition squad: enforcer, avenger and terminator all rolled into one. He fights and dances, swears and serenades, and delivers punchlines and punches without ever breaking into a sweat. Among other things, he saves a little boy from a bunch of kidnappers, prevents a bride from being abducted by a stalker from the wedding podium and keeps a slimy politician on a tight leash. When he emerges from these supercharged skirmishes, not a hair on his head is out of place. And neither is the Rayban that dangles daintily from the back of his shirt collar. As you watch Dabangg 2, crammed as it is with an entire panoply of crowd-pleasing tropes, you see no reason to doubt its moneyspinning potential. The folksy songs, robustly choreographed and lustily performed, add to the film’s LCD
(lowest common denominator) appeal. Producer and actor Arbaaz Khan has stepped into director Abhinav Kashyap’s boots, Dabangg screenwriter Dilip Shukla has done the reload, and Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha are Chulbul Pandey and Rajjo (who is now happily domesticated) again. But there is something amiss: Dabangg 2 lacks the infectious verve and delightfully pervasive spontaneity of the film that triggered Bollywood’s 100-crore craze a couple of years ago. The cynical but golden-hearted supercop, both his swagger and bluster intact, is relocated in this film from rural Lalganj to an urban Kanpur setting and that instantly robs him off the likable earthy sheen that had set him apart in Dabangg. Of course, the man is still in possession of a natural affinity for bizarre ways of resolving law and order issues -- one of his lackeys calls him Kung-fu Pandey. Like he did two years ago, he tosses off insouciant repartee with customary aplomb. Trouble is he does not tickle the funny bone quite as much nor deliver thrills quite as regularly as he had done the first time around. The pace of Dabangg 2, even at its modest length (129 minutes), is uneven. There can be no denying that Salman Khan is perfectly cut out for the carefree Robin Hood act that he has made his own. Unfortunately, the Dabangg 2 screenplay is devoid of any fresh ideas. The one-liners are rather laboured and the heroic acts that Chulbul Pandey pulls off with an eye firmly on the gallery are all too predictable. Prakash Raj is the principal antagonist, Bachcha Bhaiyya. What the consummate actor brings to the mix is perfect modulation and an air of chilling menace.
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Books
Faiz and Lyallpur The book is viewed as ‘a humble tribute by a son of Lyallpur to the great poet Faiz’ By Syed Afsar Sajid
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aiz Ahmad Faiz – Chand Nai DaryaftaiN is the sixth book of the Lyallpur Kahani series authored by noted critic and literary chronicler Prof. Ishfaq Bokhari Ishfaq Bokhari traces his book’s source to the one day Faiz Seminar held in February 2008 at Government College University, Faisalabad where he read a paper on Faiz’s association with Lyallpur (now Faisalabad). In an earlier review of the book, ‘Ariel’ (writer and critic Dr. Muhammad Ali Siddiqui’s nom de plume) remarked that ‘every town should have a gifted chronicler like Bokhari to help the future social scientists – in particular historians, to know which particular person or event connected with the city under discussion has to be taken into account for filling up the essential features of the area under discussion’, and that ‘how important it is to know a city’s past and present for the nation as a whole!’ Another reviewer of the book Altaf Hussain Asad viewed it as ‘a humble tribute by a son of Lyallpur to the great poet Faiz’. The book comprises four chapters titled ‘Maqalay say kitab tak’, Khandan-e-Faiz Ahmad Faiz
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aur Lyallpur’, Faiz kay jahan-e-aseeri alongwith his mother and brothers ka pahla daur’, and ‘Pidram sultan for a family reunion with his sister bood’ besides an interesting but informative ‘interview’ of Faiz’s nephew Dr. Surgeon Aftab Ahmad Khan and some sixteen rare photographs mostly related to Faiz’s visits to Lyallpur. F a i z ’ s connection with Lyallpur traces to his three brothers-in-law Ch. Najibullah, advocate (and later his son Prof. Saeed Ahmad), Ch. Abdul Hamid, a railway official, and Ch. Muhammad Ashraf, a banker who lived in Lyallpur at various points Faiz Ahmad Faiz – Chand Nai DaryaftaiN of time ranging from 1930’s to By Ishfaq Bokhari 1960’s. His first Publisher: Sanjh Publications, visit to Lyallpur Book Street, Mozang Road, Lahore took place in Pages: 230; Price: Rs.360/1922 when he came here
‘Every town should have a gifted chronicler like Bokhari to help the future social scientists – in particular historians, to know which particular person or event connected with the city under discussion has to be taken into account for filling up the essential features of the area’ Bilqees Bano and her husband Ch. Najibullah. Faiz’s second and third visits with her at Lyallpur occurred successively in 1929 and 1933. Many years later in 1951, when as a sequel to his involvement in what is called the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case, Faiz had to be lodged at Lyallpur District Jail for some time, his nephew Prof. Saeed Ahmad already living in Lyallpur, facilitated his link with his family and the world outside. Faiz’s family connection with Lyallpur terminated in 1963 with the death of his youngest sister Salma Iqbal’s husband Ch. Muhammad Ashraf who was then serving in town as Manager of the State Bank of Pakistan. The writer seems to have carried out a painstaking research on Faiz’s private and public life in the backdrop of his link with Lyallpur. He has also alluded to Faiz’s maiden amorous, albeit euphoric, association (1929) with a pretty Afghan damsel living in the neighbourhood of his sister Bilqees Bano in Lyallpur. Faiz’s first collection of verse Naqsh-e-Faryadi echoes with a tranquil recollection of the transient romantic episode, especially in the poems composed during 1929-35. Faiz’s father expired in 1931. The same year he was able to attract Allama Iqbal’s attention as an upand-coming poet at a mushaira held at Government College, Lahore which facilitated his access to litterateurs like Prof. Pitras Bokhari, Sufi Tabassum, and Dr. M.D. Taseer. The same year, Faiz came into contact with Khawaja Khurshid Anwar that soon developed into a
close relationship nurturing and refining his (Faiz’s) taste in music. The latter accompanied Faiz when in 1935, he came to Lyallpur from Amritsar to attend the marriage of Hameed Nasim’s elder brother Abdul Rashid Pahelwan. The same year Faiz met with Mahmood uz Zafar and Dr. Rasheed Jahan, the two leading pioneers of the Progressive Writers Movement in India. Faiz’s next visit to Lyallpur relates to 1943 when he came here as a serving Major in the Public Relations Department of the Indian Army to participate in a mushaira attended among others by Hafeez Jullunduri, Shakil Badayuni, Ehsan Danish, Tilok Chand Mahroom, Jagan Nath Azad, Israr-ul-Haq Majaz, Saghar Nizami, Jigar Muradabadi, and Firaq Gorakhpuri. During his two month (1951) long solitary confinement at Lyallpur District Jail, Faiz composed some of his most popular early verse. In March 1971, Faiz attended the famous Kissan Conference held at Toba Tek Singh (then a sub-division of Lyallpur) and recited his poem ‘Phir barq farozaN hai sar-e-wadiyey Seena’. In February 1977, Faiz presided the launching ceremony of poet HazeeN Ludhianvi’s verse collection Lahu ki Sada at the Pakistan National Centre, Lyallpur. In November 1976 Faiz attended his 65th birth anniversary celebrations at Lyallpur. Late Prof. Rana Irshad Ahmad Khan, Faiz’s devout enthusiast and an intellectual par excellence, stagemanaged the function. That was Faiz’s last journey to Faisalabad and coincidentally he breathed
his last at the ‘Lyallpur Ward’ of Mayo Hospital, Lahore on 20th November 1984. The book also carries the poetic content with some translation purported to have been composed during the period of Faiz’s incarceration at Lyallpur. The last chapter is devoted to the memory of Faiz’s illustrious father Barrister Sultan Muhammad Khan who for a long time served as Secretary of State of Afghanistan, and later that country’s ambassador to Great Britain. Thus the book enables the reader to have a look into the sociocultural life of Lyallpur at various stages of its growth into a veritable metropolis. In the process, it also introduces him to some known political and cultural figures hailing from Lyallpur like Bhagat Singh, Prof. Khadim Mohyuddin (father of Zia Mohyuddin), Hameed Nasim, Major Ishaq Muhammad, Meem Hasan Lateefi, Mehr Muhammad Sadiq Pleader, Meer Abdul Qayyum, Mehr Muhammad Sadiq Pleader, Sh. Abdul Razzaq Bar-at-Law, Khawaja Ghulam Hussain, Ali Muhammad Khadim, Manzoor Hussain Shore, Saif Khalid, Ghulam Ishaq aka ‘Saqi’, Bai Fateh Muhammad (of Jahangir Murgh Pulao), Rai Abdul Razzaq, Sher Muhammad Khan, Hafiz Ludhianvi, HazeeN Ludhianvi, Prof. Rana Irshad Ahmad Khan, and Dr. Maqbool Akhtar.
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