Adil Najam
Saw this phoptograph in Dawn today and was mesmerised by the interplay of light and shaddow.
My immeidate reaction was to think of this verse from Faiz.
I realize I have already used it before as a title (and am sure will do so again). But it seems to fit, even if the context of the original verse was rather different. Or, was it?
But then, this is what great poetry is all about. It is great not just because of what it says and how its says it, it is great because of all the things that it makes you think of. All the images it evokes. And, in this case, all the images it speaks to.
This photograph, by the way, is famed Kathak maestro Nahid Siddiqui and a fellow artist performing in Islamabad at an event organized by the Pakistan National Council of the Arts.
What a beautiful photograph… For the Zia generation, this is a sight for sore eyes. We were deprived of our culture and our heritage, and now thankfully, we are snatching it back…
I think the Kathak revival has been going on for teh last few years. Mostly thanks to Naheed Siddique (and soem others too) who have started teaching the art to newer generations. I think there are now regular Kathak performances with great frequency in the main cities. The credit goes to Naheed for steadfastly keeping teh art alive in the long years when we had banished it.
Beautiful image! Good to see Naheed Siddiqui performing in Pakistan again.
Ab bhi khazaaN ka raaj hai laikan kaheeN kaheeN
Goshay rahe chaman maiN ghazal-khwaaN hooye tau haiN
The land is still in the grip of long winter
But the buds have started blooming here and there (Faiz)
P.S: JayJay: Not relevant to this thread but were you in Abu Dhabi at one time?
Excellent, both in its appearance and associated symbolism. No going back from here – the revival will surely last now.
Aaah, when I saw it today in dawn, I knew I’ve missed some evening here – just that the timings collided – but the overall moods this one single picture is depicting is enough to tell how the evening went …!
Lovely …!