Lahore Nama


Lahore travelogue - Impressions from a keen visitor
May 8, 2008, 10:50 am
Filed under: Lahore | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

M A Soofi visited Lahore a couple of years ago with a peace delegation from India. This piece recounts his instant judgements, sympathetic comments and insights on Lahore. This contribution to Lahore Nama is much appreciated. 

Life by the Canal

The Daewoo van left Wagah - the international border separating India from Pakistan - and was now speeding towards Lahore, some twenty miles away. A canal was gushing forth on the right side of the window seat. Flowing between two parallel highways, it remained a constant companion.

Grassy patches sloped down to the banks, which were occasionally being lapped over by a sudden violence of the frothing mud-colored water of the canal. Tall trees on either side formed a comforting canopy over its length.

A variety of haiku moments flashed past the air-conditioned window: buffaloes swimming in the waters; a green-turbaned Mullah lying on the grass and reading a book; bare-chested young boys splashing water on each other, their shalwars ballooned with water; fully dressed women blushing, laughing, and taking quick cold water dips in the canal; a family contentedly feasting on a picnic lunch, with men and women sitting in separate groups; a young man and woman whispering under a tree; a lone man throwing pebbles in the water; two woman holding hands and sitting quietly; a middle-aged man resting against a tree trunk; a pair of boys washing a bicycle…

Soon these enchanting scenes vanished. The fallen leaves, languidly floating on the water, gave way to polybags and tin cans. Lahore was approaching. (more…)

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Mughees Ejaz’s Art book launched in Lahore
May 6, 2008, 5:54 pm
Filed under: Art, Lahore, heritage | Tags: , , , , ,

A river runs through it: Mughees Ejaz displays work, launches book

LAHORE: An art exhibition and book launch titled “A River Runs Through It” by Mughees Riaz was opened at Ejaz Art Gallery on Friday.

The show features a number of prominent personalities and artists from across the country. Professor Saeed Akhtar graced the occasion with his presence. Talking to Daily Times, he said the artist’s work was simple and showed a lively attraction for bold designs.

Riaz painted the River Ravi bank, skim tides and luminous skies of Lahore, which illustrate the development of increasing skills over the years. Colin David wrote that Mughees was a painter with strong sense of design. (more…)

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Mercury rising:Factories in Lahore emitting tonnes of mercury in air daily
May 5, 2008, 2:45 pm
Filed under: Environment, Lahore, Punjab, Urban, heritage, municipal, urban planning | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

By Abdul Manan

LAHORE: Factories in the city are pumping hundreds of kilogrammes of mercury in the city’s air and water while the Environment Protection Department (EPD) has so far done nothing to curb this lethal pollution.

Talking to Daily Times, an EPD official said, “Mercury pollution is a very serious matter and should be dealt with on war footing.” He said that about six months ago, the federal agency for environment launched a project in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to prepare an inventory of mercury pollution. He said the federal agency tasked the EPD to do the work in Lahore, “but the EPD has done nothing and the expensive laboratory equipment [used to measure mercury in the air and water] is kept locked in the EPD store.”

He said the federal government had given the EPD the task to hold awareness seminars and programmes to sensitise factory owners on the increasing mercury levels in the city’s environment. But no such programme had been held, he added. (more…)

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Apple Computers store launched in Lahore
May 4, 2008, 8:43 am
Filed under: Commerce, Lahore, Lifestyle | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Daily Times Report

LAHORE: US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson on Friday termed the launch of Apple Computers in Lahore, a landmark of American investors’ confidence on Pakistan.

According to a press release, ambassador said, “The partnership between Apple and Raffles Systems, representing our two countries, will promote growth and prosperity in Pakistan”.

She hoped this partnership and others between American and Pakistani companies would keep growing.

Since 1977, Apple Computers has been a global market leader for personal computers, portable media players, cell phones, computer software and other electronic products. Apple’s popular consumer products have moved technology from the corporate world to the public.

“Information technology, especially in the personal computer sector, has grown phenomenally in Pakistan,” said the ambassador. “The combination of internationally competitive costs and high-speed connectivity make Pakistan an attractive destination for IT investment.”

More than 80 US firms currently operating in Pakistan, were employing more than 41,000 people directly and an additional one million indirectly. The US is Pakistan’s largest investor, with more than $900 million investment in fiscal year 2007.

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Grey Noise: the virtual art gallery: 11 artists to exhibit their work at Alhamra
May 3, 2008, 7:41 am
Filed under: Art, Lahore | Tags: , ,

LAHORE: Eleven artists from across the country will exhibit their work at Alhamra Art Gallery on Monday as part of the launching of Grey Noise, a virtual visual art gallery.

Grey Noise is a virtual gallery representing Pakistani artists. Founded by Umer Butt and Rehan B Shah, the website (www.greynoise.org) is being launched with a show featuring artists dealing with contemporary issues.

The work displayed by the artists differs in terms of variety and technique. One thing they have in common is their modern concepts. Ameen J, a Karachi-based photographer, has come to Lahore to shoot this show. He told Daily Times that artists could work better while working in groups.

Artist Imran Ahmad’ s sculptures deal with the issue of collectivism. His work shows that individuality has dominated the Pakistani society and people are not united, even when they are working together. The chairs arranged in rows behind a big chair materialise the idea.

These chairs symbolise people standing together for a prayer behind an imam (prayer leader), but differences are visible even at that time. “Some people do not like to stand with the poor, even for a prayer. This tells that how much individualism have taken up our society,” said Imran.

Other artists displaying their work include Fahd Burki, Amna Hashmi, Ayaz Jokhio, Ayesha Jatoi, Nadia Khawaja, Mehreen Murtaza, Lala Rukh, Fatima Saeed and Risham Syed.

Umer Butt, curator of the exhibition, said that Grey Noise aimed at establishing a gallery in the foreseeable future, hence providing its artists with a platform to showcase their work. “It is also in pursuit of a wider audience by networking with galleries and putting forth a contemporary aesthetic for a possible exchange and dialogue worldwide,” he added.

Courtesy - the Daily Times

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Pollution in Lahore needs to be checked
May 2, 2008, 9:42 am
Filed under: Civic, Lahore, Urban, municipal, urban planning | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

  Story Source and Picture

SOLID WASTE management department of City District Government Lahore (CDGL) is heavily contributing in polluting the environment of the provincial capital in one or another way.

As per the figures collected from solid waste management (SWM) sources, around 6000 tons of solid waste is generated daily in Lahore, while over 500 tons waste is generated in Lahore cantonment board, model town society, defence housing society and other areas. Sources revealed that out of this 6000 ton of waste, 35 per cent remained on the roads due various reasons including low lifting capacity of SWM, lack of proper training to staff regarding lifting garbage, absence of staffers from duties etc. (more…)

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International Mystical Music in Lahore
May 1, 2008, 9:17 am
Filed under: Lahore, Sufi, culture, festivals | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Artists from Afghanistan, Syria, Iran and Egypt performed on the final night of International Mystical Music Sufi Festival at Peeru’s Café on Sunday. The performances were not scheduled but were still conducted. The Dalahoo Sufi Ensemble, the Iranian group, stole the show with Jalaluddin Rumi’s poetry. It was the second from last group to perform at the event. (more…)

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New Lahore bookshop revives reading culture
April 30, 2008, 8:13 am
Filed under: Books, Commerce, Lahore, culture, media, society | Tags: , , , , , , ,

By Kamila Hyat, for the Gulf News (April 28, 2008) 

Lahore:  For years, book lovers in Lahore, a city reputed for its literary history as well as its architectural inheritance, have mourned the apparent loss of the love of reading.

Many book shops have gradually vanished and in others, magazines have taken the place of more substantial tomes.

Teachers and parents have lamented the fact that in an age of television, DVDs, computer games and numerous other forms of jazzy electronic entertainment, children had turned away from books.

But, a single experimental idea has proved much of this conjecture about the relationship between Lahoris and books to be false.

The large Readings bookstore, which stocks row after row of used books, encyclopaedias and other literary material from the US, has within the two years or so of its existence become one of the most popular spots in the city. (more…)

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Lahore Nama is getting noticed
April 29, 2008, 7:27 am
Filed under: Lahore, blogging, culture | Tags: , , , , ,

Lahore Nama is getting some attention. This is encouraging as the Lahoris across the globe share my sentiments about this inimitable city.. (Raza Rumi)

This is what Koonj had to say in her post entitled A treasure chest for Lahore-lovers:

Thanks to Baraka, a fellow nostalgic Lahorite, I have found Lahore Nama. The blog is a treasure-chest of jewels for those who love the old, old and very, very modern city of Lahore. Lahore is where I spent most of my life. It is one of the largest cities in Pakistan, just on the border to India, and the capital city of Punjab province. The river Ravi runs through it (or one should use the past tense, given the state of the river), and it is the scene of tremendous academic, religious, literary and cultural activity.

I am a denizen of the city - my father, who was born and raised there, describes himself as a “Lahore ka keera” (literally, a bug of Lahore, which means one who knows the city like the back of his hand). I still yearn for it everyday, and whenever I return, I discover secrets and jewels tucked away in its dusty streets and along its willow-lined canal banks. Mughal monuments, Sufi shrines, colonial architecture, the lively world of the inner city and the oh-so-chic world of the upper-classes - Lahore has everything.

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Collectors to show Lahore’s old architecture
April 28, 2008, 6:53 am
Filed under: Architecture, Art, History, Lahore, culture, heritage | Tags: , , , , ,

A report from the Daily Post
 
LAHORE: A group exhibition titled Shehr will open at the Collectors Galleria on April 28th at 6:30pm.

Almost four artists, Abdul Rahim, M Ilayas Rana, M Shafiq and Sarfraz Musawir will display over 11 pieces in this group show.

Their work is said to revolve around the old city architect. Each artist will present their paintings of old city grandeur, as perceived by themselves to carry in their own distinctive mark.

Another group exhibition will be displayed at the Alhamra Art Gallery on April 28th as part of the launch of Grey Noise, a virtual visual art gallery. Almost 11 artists will participate in the exhibition with variety of art forms and work, sculptures, photographs and paintings. (more…)

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Ajoka Spring Theatre Festival to stage socially critical dramas
April 27, 2008, 5:35 am
Filed under: Art, Lahore, culture | Tags: , , , ,

By Hina Farooq

LAHORE: The five-day Spring Theatre Festival by Ajoka Theatre opened on Friday at Alhamra, The Mall. The festival will be featuring a renowned Ajoka play as well as new plays in order to engage audiences with a more serious tone.

Many people are anticipating the new addition play ‘Hotel Mohenjodaro’, which will be staged on April 26 and April 27. The play is inspired by a short Urdu story by Ghulam Abbas, adapted by Shahid Nadeem and based on social issues. The story depicts a society ruled by religious fanatics and its overwhelming consequences.

The festival will feature theatre illustrating various social changes and themes of society with plays such as ‘Kala Meda Bhes’, which will be performed on April 28. The play is based on a real-life incident in Sindh, where a woman was traded for an ox. The story revolves around the woman, Sundri, who is initially humiliated at the exchange, then angry and eventually becomes determined to prove her worth as a human being. The play uses the folk theatre style of the Swaang and is a bold attempt, both thematically and in terms of style.

The third play Bala King is Shahid Nadeems Punjabi adaptation of Brecht’s ‘The Rise of Arturo Ui’. This will be staged on April 29. The story evolves as Ui is replaced by Bala, an unemployed leader of a wrestling group, who decides to leave Taxali Gate and tries his luck at the Badami Bagh Lorry Adda, a hub of inter-city road transport. A self-righteous businessman dominates the Lorry Adda. The play documents the Bala gang’s exploitation of the vulnerable groups of society and his misuse of physical strength to intimidate and blackmail people into accepting his unreasonable offers. The rise of Bala King and people’s inability to resist his advances exposes the weakness and susceptibility of society to violence, blackmail and corruption.

According to publicity by the theatre group, “The adaptation shows once again that Brecht is as relevant in Pakistan today as he was to Germany and Europe in the 40s.” Also it states, “Although an adaptation, Bala King is very relevant and meaningful to the Pakistani audience, where the spectre of autocratic rule looms large, where violence and crime appears to pay politically and where a complacent and acquiescent majority seems helpless against the forces of corruption, crime and violence.”

The play ‘Bulha’ staged on April 30 is predominantly based on the events of Bulleh Shah’s life, as communicated through his poetry, historical records and popular myths. The play reveals the majority of dramatic episodes in the life of Bulleh Shah. His search for truth, devotion to his mentor Shah Inayat, the conflict with intolerant clergy and corrupt nawabs as well as the opposition to war and bloodshed in the name of religion, are all integrated effectively in the play. The story also has relevance to present-day South Asia. ‘Bulha’ is not just a period play. It is also a celebration of the rich and vibrant culture of the Punjab.

The Panj Pani Festival was scheduled to be in Lahore during the same month, as was custom, but this time Indian delegates required to reach Pakistan could not get visas. That festival was thus postponed resulting in the organising of the spring festival.

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Lahore: the City of Sin and Splendour
April 26, 2008, 10:55 am
Filed under: Books, History, Lahore, Walled City, heritage | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Courtesty Pakistan Paindabad blog

Food Street, LahoreBapsi Sidhwa’s Lahore is a lovingly embroidered family heirloom.

[By Gaurav Sood; the author is a US based political and media analyst. He occasionally writes at Spincycle; picture by Asif Jafri]

A city hasn’t been showered with such love since Dalrymple wrote about Delhi. Bapsi Sidhwa’s edited volume on Lahore in fact far exceeds it. After all, Dalrymple was nothing but a foreigner who had only spent a few years in Delhi when he wrote the book, while Sidhwa in her endeavor is accompanied by a range of distinguished authors and intellects, only tied together in their love for Lahore.

The love for the city, its landmarks, its famed cuisine, its gourmets, its brutalizing summers, its people, its stories, and its relationships shines through on every page.

Every great city deserves an admirer and chronicler of the calibre of Bapsi Sidhwa – someone who will perspicaciously and assiduously collect stories that celebrate her beauty and look unflinchingly, yet lovingly, at her bruised soul and her warts.

The Book

The book strikes an immediate rapport that is akin to being invited to an intimate familial Punjabi gathering. I felt alternately like a kid sitting on the lap of my maternal uncle being told stories about the city, a young adult guiltily listening to the adult conversation about the brutal tales about city’s history, and an objective adult reflecting on history, and politics.

There is a warm intimacy that suffuses each of the stories in City of Sin and Splendor: Writings on Lahore. The additional element of emotional immediacy comes from stories that talk about things we South Asians have grown up with. All of it is made available ‘naturalistically’ by the craft of authors who rarely go beyond what is known. It is an important talent. For authors are always tempted by superfluous cleverness. It is the Jane Austen method of writing in some ways – writing honestly, perspicaciously, and often with great wit about what is known without flirting with the unnecessary or the arcane. It is grounded writing. The authors use words that are well worn and apt and not ones with peripatetic grandiloquent pretensions. The resulting atmosphere in the book is not stifling because of the self restraint, but educated and homely. (more…)

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Lahore: NCA students exhibit work on Iqbal’s vision
April 25, 2008, 8:26 am
Filed under: Art, Lahore, culture, sculpture | Tags: , , , , ,

Staff Report

LAHORE: Students of the National College of Arts (NCA) on Thursday exhibited their work based on Allama Iqbal’s verse ‘Learn to Think and See in New Ways’ at Zahoorul Akhlaq Gallery.

The exhibition was titled ‘Transformation’, and was inaugurated by The Friday Times publisher Jugnu Mohsin. A large number of students turned, and many of them had worked together on the project. The work included paintings, sculptures and short documentaries.

Individual approaches to a uniform theme – based on Iqbal’s philosophy – were displayed at the exhibition. An art piece ‘Kaukab-e-Qismat-e-Imkaan’ by 4th-year student Adeel Ahmad Zafar and 3rd-year student Dua Abbas Rizvi spoke volumes about transformation. The material used included wood, pen and ink, which made it quite unique.

Student Ejaz Saeed’s sculpture dealt with intoxication. The statue was gilded with cigarettes, tablets and syringes. (more…)

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Lahoris dominate the Punjab cabinet
April 23, 2008, 3:17 pm
Filed under: Elections, Lahore, Punjab, political | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

By Faizan Bangash writing in the NEWS

LAHORE has become the city with largest representation in the Punjab cabinet as four out of total 14 ministers who took oath on Tuesday belong to the provincial metropolis.

The cabinet members from Lahore include Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor, Farooq Yousaf Ghurki, Mian Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman and Kamran Michael.

Besides, the Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Mashood also hails from Lahore. Lahore is also likely to wear the crown of Punjab after PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif becomes its chief minister of the province after being elected in the bye-polls.

Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor, who has been given the portfolio of Prisons, is the most experienced parliamentarian of PML-N from Lahore in the present cabinet who has reached the Punjab Assembly for the third time. (more…)

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Sufi music festival to hit the city on 25th
April 23, 2008, 5:42 am
Filed under: Lahore, Music, Sufi, culture, festivals, heritage | Tags: , , , , ,

From the Daily Times

LAHORE: The 5th International Mystic Music Sufi Festival (IMMSF) will be held in the city from April 25 to 27.

Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop (RPTW) in collaboration with Telenor Pakistan launched the annual music festival at Peeru’s Café.

This time, the event is being taken to small cities. The festival began on April 21 at the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage, Islamabad, and would move on to Multan on April 24. From April 25 to 27, the performances will be presented in Lahore. The festival will conclude on April 30 at the Beach View Garden, Karachi. (more…)

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All Pakistan Music Conference
April 22, 2008, 2:42 am
Filed under: Lahore | Tags: , , , , , ,

From Lahore metroblogs

At the time of the history’s greatest migration, along with geographical disorientation, the infant Pakistan was also psychologically lost and depressed. These were dire times when simple survival as a seperate nation was the only priority and arts at such time could not be given much heed. This led to further gloom of the art lovers as well as artists themselves. Apart from radio Pakistan there was no more music in the air. Music lovers reminisced the live music concerts whereas maestros in the field of music started to crumble. At such a difficult time for music in Pakistan it was cocncerned citizens that collectively volunteered to initiate the All Pakistan Music Conference in 1959. Their main objective was to rejuvenate and relive the glory of classical music and arrange seminars, conferences and concerts. (courtesy: www.apmc.info)

Today, 49 years later the All Pakistan Music Conference maintains its poise and is held every year without fail reminding us of the art that breathes in the same ambience as we do. Classical music and dance is in the air of the subcontinent. We can choose to ignore it but not eradicate it.

The remaining APMC Festival 2008 has been postponed but the last of the few events was last month when Hajrah Khan, a Social Sciences Major from Lahore University of Management Sciences read an academic paper on “Urdu Ghazal & English Sonnet” very intricately interlacing the two and reminding us , art has no boundaries, geographical or demographic. The esteemed presence of Shaista Sirajuddin to read out the English Sonnets selected by Hajrah and Dr Arfa Syeda Zehra to recite Urdu Ghazals added to the magic.

English Sonnet and Urdu Ghazal

(more…)

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Surjit Singh Lamba arrives in Lahore
April 21, 2008, 8:03 am
Filed under: Lahore, Punjab, Religion, Sikh period, culture, heritage | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

From the Daily Times

LAHORE: Indian writer and poet Surjit Singh Lamba, the first non-Muslim to publish an Urdu book, Quran-e- Natiq, arrived in the city on Saturday evening.

Lamba, a great admirer of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, published his first book, Nazre Khusro, in 1975. The book contains Amir Khusro’s Persian ghazals translated in Urdu, which is a rare and pioneer work in Urdu literature.

He published his second Urdu book, Quran-e-Natiq, in which he highlighted the message of love and unity of mankind – preached and practiced by the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). Literary circles all over the world have praised the book.

The Urdu Academy, Delhi, has given ‘Linguistic Integrity Award’ to Lamba for the book in 2004. He has done intensive research on Iqbaliat and Islamiat and has delivered extempore lectures in India, Pakistan; and the US – fostering universal brotherhood and interfaith harmony. (more…)

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Lahore: The axe falls on secretariat trees
April 20, 2008, 6:38 am
Filed under: Conservation, Environment, Lahore, heritage, urban planning | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Intikhab Hanif’s report for the Daily DAWN is worrisome:

LAHORE, April 19: A number of Punjab Civil Secretariat’s old trees have been felled as part of Chief Secretary Javed Mehmood’s ‘demolition plan’ and the premises has been denuded of its natural beauty, green shadows and most importantly the historical links.

Among the felled ones is a red berry tree, which was standing near the back gate of the secretariat and was famous for its sweet fruit. It was perhaps one of the very few red berry trees in Lahore and was a link between the Lahore of today and the past.

“I really regret the felling of this tree. It should have been preserved,” said a senior secretariat employee, recalling how he used to pluck berries from the tree in spring after offering prayers in the nearby mosque without caring for his age and rank. (more…)

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Lahore: Return the GOR Park
April 19, 2008, 7:38 am
Filed under: Conservation, Environment, LDA, Lahore, Parks, Seasons, Urban, gardens, urban planning | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

By Ahmad Rafay Alam

Several formalities need to be completed before Shabaz Sharif can once again assume the administration of this province. But this hasn’t deterred the former chief minister from letting all and sundry know that he’s back in town and that he means business. What this also means is that the previous government’s grip over the administration of the Punjab— a vice like noose that wound its way from halls of the secretariat, through every police station in the province and into the vaulted halls of the Lahore High Court— is slowly but surely loosening.

During the past few years few, if any, have uttered a word about the fate of the small triangular park that stood in the heart of Lahore’s leafy GOR-I residential district. Turning into the GOR at the intersection of the Mall and Davis Road, it stood outside the chief minister’s official residence and office. At some point this once round-a-bout was converted into a triangular “green” island. Then, to ward off the children, loiterers and die-hard cricketers a fountain was added to the middle of the island (It didn’t work: the marbled floor around the triangular fountain not only provided an year-round pitch, it gave local cricket enthusiasts three pitches instead of one.)

Regardless of whether or not any of these measures worked from keeping the great unwashed out of the line of vision of the high and mighty, the point is that this little bit of green in the middle of GOR— in front of the provincial chief executive’s nerve centre no less— was a park open to the public as a utility area. And even when over zealous policemen keeping watch at the CM’s office managed to chase away the children, loiterers and die-hard cricketers, the little island was another little example of the beauty tucked away in GOR. (more…)

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Iqbal Hussain - Lahore’s controversial artist
April 18, 2008, 2:24 am
Filed under: Art, Lahore | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Iqbal Hussain from Lahore is one of the finest painters we have. Most of his paintings depict women from the Heera Mandi (literally the diamond market)- or the centuries old red-light district. I found the above image on the Internet today. The news-item referred to Iqbal’s advocacy through his powerful art works:

..Others, who have emerged as spokespersons for the women of Heera Mandi, including leading artist Iqbal Hussain, whose own mother was a sex worker, emphasise their “lack of empowerment, exploitation and helplessness”.

His works convey all of these emotions and bring to life extraordinary characters who are often neglected or spurned by the hypocritical culture of Pakistan.

Endnote from here:

Being termed a controversial painter in Pakistan, Iqbal’s subjects sometimes tend to shock “puritan painters”, but Iqbal follows his own visions and continues to paint his unconventional and radically innovative paintings. He enjoys a great reputation as an artist in the international art world. His paintings have been requested by Jordanian Princess Wijdan Ali for the Jordanian Gallery of Fine Arts. His were the only ones selected for Unesco Headquarters Prize in 1995, Paris. In 1998, one of his paintings was auctioned at the Sotheby’s Auction House in London.

More on Iqbal Hussain here. 

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