Posts Tagged Gauhar

My piece for TFT (May 15 issue)

Raza Rumi reviews 25 years of the Ajoka theatre group and describes how it has evolved into a powerful voice against terrorism and injustice

Madeeha Gauhar, the founder of the Ajoka theatre group, is a woman of conviction and passion. So is her husband and partner, the muse of Ajoka, Shahid Nadeem. Seldom have talent and commitment been so well enmeshed and intertwined with contemporary realities and political struggles. Theirs has been an extraordinary union – a meeting of minds and convergence of political and cultural expression. Small wonder, that the Ajoka couple have successfully refined and expanded the frontiers of street theatre in Pakistan.

Theatre -of folk and nautanki varieties – is embedded in the myriad cultures of South Asia since ancient times. Early carvings and engravings indicate the performative mores of the inhabitants of this region. Over centuries the art forms evolved and absorbed the influences of invaders, new cultures and languages. In the subcontinent, the streams of progressive theatre found a new expression in the twentieth century with the legendary Bombay and Calcutta based groups such as the Indian People’s Theatre Association inspired by the ideologies of the Left. The existence of theatre with meaning continued side by side with the colonial influences that introduced Victorian sensibilities, led to adaptations of Shakespeare, and the localisation of other trends that were shaping in modern Britain and Europe. (more…)

During my recent visit to Lahore, I met the Lahore artist, Iqbal Hussain. We had a nice, engaging chat, saw his recent works some displayed and some eating dust in the splendid Cooco’s Cafe located next to the Badshahi Mosque.

Iqbal’s matter-of-fact portraits have introduced the multiple nuances and shades of Lahore’s red-light area to the world. The women subjects are mostly from the area and he paints them with stark candour and brings out the depths of expressions and emotions in his lines and brush-strokes.

Perhaps the greatest contribution of Iqbal is the establishment of Cooco’s Cafe that has turned into a cultural landmark and has also catalysed urban renewal in the neighbourhood.

Among his recent paintings is the portrait of actor-writer Feryal Ali Gauhar with her dog. This is an uncommon subject but the result is fabulous. I was quick to take a photo (see the image below).

Iqbal is a down-to-earth artist with no pretensions. The directness and simplicity of his work is a reflection of his personality. He braved the mainstream opposition to his paintings with a stoic attitude and has invested his time and soul into the growth of cooco’s as a fine place that offers much more than the old city delicacies and cuisine. I can’t wait to meet him again and see his new work.