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The lost
power of people review Fleeting
feminism An
age old master
By Kamila Hyat Images of lawyers vociferously protesting the official action against the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, have now become a regular feature. Lawyers wearing shrouds, angrily raising slogans demanding the protection of judicial independence and marching through streets have turned out in every city on the call of bar councils. In the earliest days of the
crisis, soon after the CJ was made 'non-functional' on March 9 this year,
there were suggestions the protests spearheaded by lawyers could mushroom
into a full-fledged This is not a coincidence. The phenomenon has far wider dimensions and goes to highlight the nature of the deep-rooted political crisis the country faces today. A few weeks ago, TV channels broadcast many minutes of footage dating back to the era of the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, on the occasion of his death anniversary. Without even attempting to discuss the rights and wrongs of Bhutto and his government, what was striking was the energy exhibited by people taking part in mass rallies, in Lahore, in Rawalpindi and in Sindh. Every member of the vast audiences seemed to be interested, to be listening to the man they chose as their leader with genuine enthusiasm -- alive to the hope his words inspired. Today, much of that hope seems to have vanished. People gathered for rallies often stare out with eyes that seem dead. In many cases they have simply complied with orders to attend the gathering, or simply been herded into trucks and 'brought' to the venue. This is as true for the PPP as for other parties, and a sad reminder of how much the party has lost over the past two-and-a-half decades. The reasons for this seem to form a vicious cycle. As leaders of the party engaged in the deadening process of 'deal-making' with the establishment, people were left by the wayside. The fact that real power can come only through mass support, a fact that Bhutto recognised, seems to have been lost. And, in turn, as the party leadership lost confidence in its ability to marshall people and stir up passion, it in turn looked increasingly towards the centres of power in Islamabad as a means to move into the seats of leadership that bring rulers so many benefits. A display of the tragic depths to which a party that once inspired millions of people has sunk came recently in Lahore, during the demonstration organised by the Women's Actions Forum (WAF) against religious extremism. The PPP leadership, with its small coterie of workers, opted to remain away from the main procession as it left the Lahore High Court (LHC) but instead gathered at the provincial assembly building. However, as the procession neared the venue, PPP workers suddenly unfurled giant banners, and rushed to stand in the front rows, as the party's leaders jostled for prime places in photographs for the Press cameras. The incident showed both attitudes prevailing within the party, and the pathetic depths to which it has sunk. That a party which had once inspired thousands to its cause, and indeed continued to do so at least till 1988, had been reduced to a level where its leadership aspired only to appear in media photographs, is a reflection on the fact that, within the political playing fields of Pakistan, it has completely lost its way. People then, for political parties, seem to have lost relevance. The veteran PPP workers who sometimes remind leaders of this have, on many occasions, been turned away from meetings by armed guards. In the cafes of Mozang and other areas with a strong PPP support-base, many gather to tell tales of the past, and lament the decline that has taken place today. With the PPP unwilling to lead people, it is perhaps not surprising that lawyers have remained the focal point of the anti-government campaign in the latest crisis. The PML-N has been badly weakened by the manipulations of the years since 1999, as leaders have been lured away and interventions made to cripple the rudderless party; the MMA is said to be suffering severe internal friction and, at any rate, can never be relied on while Imran Khan's PTI can obviously provide only limited person power, though it has not skimped on effort or vocal expression of its opinion. This drifting away of people from political parties, and the resultant sense of distance of people from national events, is possibly the most grave crisis the nation faces today. While the methodical undermining of parties, the sidelining of leaders, the bars on allowing them freedom to operate are factors in this, the parties too must be held accountable. The parties which still make claims to commanding the support of the 'masses' must look back, into the past, and determine honestly why and how the distrust, the anger, the despair seen in people's eyes has replaced the energy that once existed. Why is there so high a degree of cynicism and disillusionment, and can anything be done to sweep it away? The answers to these questions lie in the realisation that ultimately, it is only by involving people that parties can gain any real power. Otherwise they remain puppets in the hands of the establishment -- unable to function until the stage is set, the correct scene built and the strings pulled to play out a pre-written script. The campaign initiated by lawyers against the ouster of the CJ and the widespread sense of outrage this generated represented the perfect trigger to ignite a larger movement. The fact that this has not happened underscores the growing weakness of political forces not allied with the government, and the consequent helplessness of a people who continue to search for someone to show them the path out of their present state.
By Sarwat Ali The fourth India-Pakistan
theatre festival in as many years, 'Reinterpreting History', which was to Zanani' the first festival held in 2004, was thus the beginning of a tradition of festivals comprising regional and international theatre groups as expected. Taking advantage of the easing of visa and other restrictions a few years ago, in the last four years Ajoka has not only now been able to organise the festival in Pakistan but by building on the initiative has also performed in Indian Punjab in similar festivals as well. The groups from India that participated in the theatre festival were Rang Vidushak from Bhopal, Manch Rang Manch from Amritsar, Dramatic Readings from Chandigarh, Alternative Living Theatre from Kolkata, Adakar Manch from Mohali, Off Stage from Moga and Creative Dance Centre from New Delhi. The most impressive performance of the festival was by Bhoomika Creative Dance Centre, New Delhi. In all the classical arts, tension has existed between the peculiarities of style and the realities of the contemporary sensibility. In the 1930s people like Uday Shanker, after being exposed to dance forms in other parts of the world, decided to experiment and bring dance closer to the times that he was living in. He formed his own dance company, set up a school at Almora and went about expressing the realities of his time through dance. Of course, he could not totally discard the weight of tradition and heritage and if he had done so he would have not been remembered as a significant figure. He took the local dancing techniques, thematically introduced contemporary issues and created a new vocabulary in Indian dance. Uday Shanker was greatly influenced by the western ballet and in the creation of his own style that influence was quite visible. Narendra Sharma was a very young man when he went to Almora and accepted Uday Shanker as his guru. Zohra Saigol and Uzra Butt were also part of the team at Almora. Narender Sharma later became a famous dancer and a choreographer in his own right. Narender Sharma established the Bhoomika Creative Dance Centre in 1972 and according to the brochure of the festival is one of the leading professional dance troupes having produced and presented 50 short and major ballets in major national and international dance festivals. It has been choreographing for major events like the Asian Games, the Festival of India in Moscow, Modern Dance Festivals in Berlin, the 9th Bienelle De La Danse Lyon, Narendar Sharma, the main spirit behind Bhoomika Creative Arts Centre, has worked on themes ranging from the mythical to modern, on superstition, humour, satire, death and poetry. He has won awards from the Sangeet Natak Akademi, UP Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sahitya Kala Parishad, Soviet Land Nehru Award and is a Fellow of the Culture Department, Government of India. For the festival, he had prepared three dance numbers: 'Flying Cranes', 'Homage to Guru' and 'Antim Adhyay'. When contemporary issues are brought in, there is always a danger lurking in the shadows that the entire effort might become illustrative. Many a time a relevant issue, when driven too hard, has been reduced to a tableau. The truth of the performance in the festival lay in the fact that the peculiarities of the dance technique never allowed the presentation to be tableaux. Now that four festivals have been held and some of the directors have presented their productions regularly in these festivals, it is possible to trace the distinct style of production of these directors. It appears that Kewal Dhaliwal prefers to work on some folk tale or legend from the past which gives him ample scope to treat the entire play in larger than life dimensions. This was very obvious in the verse play 'Loona' written by Shiv Kumar Batalvi and directed by Kewal. Based on the famous legend of 'Puran Bhaggat' it was a charged, poetical, larger than life re-enactment of the folk tale. The play had dance and a bit of music and plenty of colour but the language proved to be the real strength of the production. Shiv Kumar Batalvi, a major poet of Punjabi who died at a young age of 36, has left as his legacy the facility of bridging the idiom of the classics with contemporary expression. In 'Dhamak Nagare De', a play based on the life and death of the Punjabi hero Dullah Bhatti, Kewal meted out the same larger than life treatment. But Dhaliwal displayed his versatility in 'Gaddi Charran Di Kahal Bari Si', based on the experiences the Indian immigrant community faced in its eagerness to go to the promised land -- the West. It was a very gripping production because the language of the characters matched their ordinary and less than heroic experiences. These plays were adapted from short stories by Baldev Singh Dhinsa, Jaswinder Singh, Harpeet Sekha and Veena Varma. Following his realistic strain in this festival Dhaliwal staged 'Andar Bahar Manto' in an oft followed pattern where the writings and the life of writer were twined to sustain the narrative. Adakar Manch's 'Prinde Jaan Hun Kithey', was directed by Sahib Singh in last year's festival and this year he staged 'Pinjar' based on the famous novel by Amrita Pritam. Sahib Singh -- a very experienced stage hand having written about 15 plays himself and acted in over a 100 plays -- started a new theatre movement in Chandigarh about two years ago of staging a new play every month. Last year, in 'Third War' and 'We Promise' written and directed by Prohir Guha, Alternate Living Theatre stressed on the non verbal aspect. This year it performed 'Amma' based on the plight of women who lose their fathers, brothers and sons in war. Another delightful production was of 'Tukkay pey Tukka' based on a Chinese folk tale directed by Bansi Kaul. The play was done in a lighter vein with plenty of dance and movement thrown in. The plays staged by Pakistani groups in the festival were 'Burqavaganza', 'Bullah', 'Dukh Darya', 'Halla Bol' by Ajoka, 'Saiye' directed by Salman Shahid for Lahore Arts Council, 'Udeek' by Natara Theatre, 'Heer Ranjha' by Bahawalpur Sariaki Theatre 'Zikr-e-Nashunida' by Tehreek-e-Niswan, 'Sassi Pannu' by Bahawalpur Saraiki Theatre. Ajoka has been resilient to survive the phase when it was treated as pariah by the establishment. It seems to have been vindicated as the same very venues from where it was banned once have now been thrown open to it for staging not only its own plays but also of the Indian groups in a festival on themes that would have been unthinkable a few years back. Despite the liberalisation
of visa, many problems still persist and this festival nearly got called off
because of unseen hurdles. For greater interaction between the Pakistan and
Indian artists it is imperative that these restrictions and difficulties be
removed.
By Quddus Mirza Art progresses in a
peculiar way. In contrast to an upward movement that negates previous stages
(like sciences), art evolves in a circular motion. There is no concept of a
linear movement in art; Probably the best example of this could be seen in the works of Pablo Picasso. He used to paint canvases of diverse kinds -- realistic and stylised -- simultaneously, often in a single day. The diversity of approach affirms that an artist can refer to his/her previous work, and is able to recreate it in a different way. Or the present work can be linked with one's own art from the past. But ironically several believers in tradition are not too happy if an artist happens to repeat his/her own art. For them it is like an artistic taboo. But some artists, including Nahid Raza, are not hesitant to pick their past practices and revise them. Nahid's latest works, currently on display at Rohtas 2 in Lahore, indicate a shift in her aesthetics. For a number of years, Nahid had been concentrating on the depiction of female figure -- most probably due to her belief in feminism. In this respect she is not different from a large group of artists who have a (historic) fascination with the female figure, and depict it as the emblem of beauty, perfection, pleasure and delicacy.
In Raza's latest body of works, shown as 'Hidden Faces', the female figure still emerges in her compositions, but now these do not occupy the prime position. Here the female characters -- like the old lovers who meet out of habit -- do appear in her works, but it seems that Nahid is moving away from her acquired stance of feminist image-maker. In her paintings one can see the outline of females, either sitting alone or in groups of three, are shown in each other's company or drawn in separate niches/spaces. They are just the traces of her bygone female figures. These women, actually the outlines of their figures, are placed in some structures, primarily in a rectangular shape with a circle on top. Often the structure, which contains women, suggests a certain architectural element, like arches or doors, but by and large these are simple shapes placed on plain colours. In fact these serve the purpose of providing a backdrop to the figures. In some cases, the parts of body, like hands, feet or faces occupy the pictorial space that is otherwise created for the female form. A few of her paintings are composed in an open space, such as the image of buraq, with two tiny birds perched on its back. But in majority of her works, the combination of females in a block-like backdrop and the ever present circle (Sun) seems like a tried out scheme and an easy solution for any formal situation. However, with its figurative imagery and predictable composition, the new works of Nahid Raza record a turn in her personal history of art. It appears that the female figures are used just as an excuse to make legible works, whereas the artist is more interested in the craft of painting. She applies thick impasto of paint, against the flat areas of colours and puts many layers of colours to build dense surfaces. The application of paint -- though for the sake of filling the contours of the body -- seems more like an end in itself. A painterly pleasure, which Nahid Raza seems to be yearning for. Actually this aspect of her work, the painterly surfaces and the pleasure of putting hues of various colours in a tactile manner, connects her recent works to her past paintings. During the early 1970s, she created a number of purely abstract surfaces, with thick impastos and vibrant colours. These canvases did not lead to any immediate, or even remote meanings, since these communicated on a sensual level. The unpredictability and spontaneity of those works guaranteed a kind of vitality in her earlier paintings. But it was later that subjects such as tombs, women and birds seeped into her canvases. The preoccupation with the subject and subsequently with its meaning became so crucial for her that in the course of painting, Nahid compromised on the formal features of her works. Thus several of her paintings -- from the heydays of womanliness -- appear to be produced under a particular method of image-making. In some ways, Nahid (maybe without her consent or effort) acquired the position of an exemplary feminist painter. It is only in the latest works, that she seems reluctant to remain faithful to her feminist cause in art. The new paintings at Rohats 2 indicate that the artist is longing to revive her painterly ability and retrieve her flair for tactile surfaces. In fact the recognisable imagery of females and parts of body are blending and diminishing in thick coats of paint, in different shades and intensity. The vitality of her mark-making and the preference for unusual chromatic schemes appear to be returning in her works. However, it will be a challenging task for the artist to regain her once tried method and manner of fabricating visually engaging works. Mainly because, once you have passed a certain stage, the formal questions and conceptual worries of that time cease to hold any interest/relevance for the artist. But at the same instance, some artists realise their past and learn from what they had achieved once (without making copies of other artists' works) and use their older techniques and sensibilities for making new pieces. Nahid Raza seems to be
doing the same, but in her case, the slow disappearance of female figure
marks a shift in her ideas towards the cause of feminism. Like a number of
other artists, probably she no longer believes in the relevance of this
subject and happens to be slowly moving away from it. This change is
important in the art world, because it affirms that ideas and ideologies are
not constant in the realm of creative activities. They might be cherished as
historic milestones, but these can not provide valid currency in other times.
A fact that is hard to swallow, not for the followers of feminism, but for
other reformers in art as well! (The
works will be on display at Rohtas 2 from April 24 to May 7 2007)
After independence it was
generally observed that many of the people who had made a name for W.Z.Ahmed made only two films in Pakistan and that is a very small number given the fact that he migrated in the prime of life, in his 30s, and for the rest of his long life continued to grapple with the various problems the film industry was bedevilled with. Many of the institutions that W.Z Ahmed wanted to establish only remained ideas. A few were executed but proved to be one time affairs. He was not able to form a team that could actualise those ideas; a little strange because he was able to make a team in Pune where he was able to land and hold some of the biggest names in show business and the arts. In the performing arts all over the world and particularly in India, the relationship between idea and the artistic expression has always been a dicey one. A lobby is always keen to make the arts a vehicle for the furtherance of their ideology or a reform agenda. This reform agenda was first exercised in the 19th century when the decadence of the Muslims and their loss of political power was laid at the door of the arts in general and the performing arts in particular. Too much of sher-o-shairi and too much of singing and dancing was blamed for weakening the mighty arm that once held the sword. The arts had to be banished and if any art was to survive or allowed to be tolerated it had to be 'islahi', it should carry a reform agenda. It could also be that the ideas were far too ahead of their times and their productive implementation at the time was not possible or the people were not fully aware of the significance and weren't mentally prepared. In the 1940s W.Z Ahmed emerged as a new successful, innovative and bold director producer. He had set up his own production company Shalamar Studio in Pune, produced and directed films which were received well at the box office and were also critically acclaimed. He did not swing to the islahi side totally nor did he revel in the well wrought craft of our traditional arts. The 19th century islahi was replaced by the taraqi pasandi and most of the arts including the performing arts were subjected to a review under the changed perspective. Now the arts were perceived as preparing the soil for planting the seed of a brave new world. He made films on bold topics like entertaining the possibility of an extramarital relationship and highlighting erotic expressiveness. The films he made in India were 'Eik Raat', 'Prem Sangeet', 'Mun Ki Jeet', 'Ghulami' and 'Prithvi Raj Sanjogta.' 'Eik Raat' was a well made film and 'Mun Ki Jeet' which was based on Hardy's novel 'Tess' was a super hit. The story, cinematography, the technical finesse and the poetry of Josh Malihabadi were primarily responsible for its success. But 'Ghulami' and 'Prithvi Raj Sanjogta' fared badly and took Shalamar Studios to the brink of bankruptcy. He opted to come to Pakistan, hoping that films could be made here with facility. The first battle he had to fight was with the powerful lobby of film distributors who wanted the Indian films to be imported. The local producers, fearing a tough competition, wanted more protective policies. In the beginning the distributors' lobby was successful and Indian films were only banned when the distributors gradually themselves became producers. W.Z Ahmed naturally found himself on the side of the producers and being an idealist he wanted to set up everything that was required in filmmaking under one roof. He wanted to recreate the Shalamar Studios in Lahore but times had changed and the new system worked on the basis of outsourcing. Persisting with his dream, he decided to build a complete unit on Multan Road. W.Z Studio's in the beginning remained a construction site and then slowly took the form of a permanently unfinished structure. The expensive equipment and lights remained in their original packing for years and were never unpacked or installed. As he grew older the studio started to give the impression of an unkempt garden. He made only two films in Pakistan 'Roohi' and 'Wada', both good films given the conditions that prevailed in the country but they were made in the decade of the 1950s .A master communicator, he was brilliant at winning over people and selling his ideas. Extremely charming he was a great story teller and a conversationalist. He belonged to another era and age but his presence reminded of the pre-partition film world. -- Sarwat Ali |
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political movement, directed against the government. Certainly, leaders of
political parties expressed support, and turned out outside the Supreme Court
building in Islamabad as the first, controversial hearings were held. But
since then, the involvement of parties has declined, except for the Muttahida
Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI). The mass parties,
notably the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), who could potentially spearhead a
campaign, appear though to have ventured away from the epicentre of the
crisis, even though they were marginally more visible than before during the
latest protest on Tuesday.
be held in March, was finally held at the Alhamra last week -- allaying fears
expressed after the visa problems first delayed the programme.
instead it operates in unexpected modes. Hence an artist can pick a style,
theme, image or way of working that has been used by him/her many years ago,
and can return to it after various other formal experiments and conceptual
concerns.
This
attitude towards women has been evident in the way nude bodies are painted by
men in our society. When the women are portrayed by female artists, usually
it is not much different from the male view. Both seem to celebrate the
physical charms of the form, elegant features and attractive poses. Even
though both proclaim different -- usually contradictory -- positions yet
their productions appear not much dissimilar.
themselves or had contributed significantly in their respective fields did
not fare that well in the independent Pakistan. Shaukat Hussain Rizvi was
never able to match either the brilliance or the success of his pre-partition
days, nor did W.Z Ahmed.