The Punjab Folk Studio on Saturday evening showcased the culture and tradition of Sargodha and its adjacent areas through folk dances, musical performances and a horse dance.

The Punjab Council of Arts hosted the evening in collaboration with the Sargodha Arts Council at Open Air Theatre, Bagh-i-Jinnah. The stage was decorated with traditional stools, pitchers, model of a tube well, pigeons and other items. Since Sargodha is known for producing oranges, there was a cart full of the fruit parked at a side of the stage that were later distributed among the audience along with the traditional sweet dhoda.

The evening opened with a singing of Heer that transported the audience to the time of Heer and Ranjha. A singer from Sargodha enthralled the audience with his amazing folk singing with songs such as ‘Aa jaa yaar dey deedar’ and ‘Sajjan bana lai nee’.

The Fazalur Rehman dance group presented a fabulous upbeat folk dance to the beat of drums and live orchestra. A horse dance had been incorporated into this performance that the audience really enjoyed.

An all-girls dance beautifully depicted how women went to the well to fetch water. Singer Arshad Khan performed ‘Ker Mulqataan’ and Mushtaq Khan Niazi sang folk legend Attaullah Esa Kheelvi’s popular numbers ‘Balo battian’ and ‘Wey bol sanwal’.

The Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture will hold a four-day Pakistan Cultural Festival -- Feb 18 to 21.

At the opening ceremony a musical session and a few speeches would be held. On Feb 19 there will be a Punjab Cultural Day which would feature ghazal and classical singing along with contemporary music. The third day is dedicated to folk tales, Heer and Saiful Malook singing under the title ‘Wasda Rahay Punjab’, while an awards ceremony will be held on the concluding day of the festival where the visitors will have an opportunity to interact with known singers and actors.

The institute held a condolence reference in memory of poet Akhtar Shad on Feb 1.

Pilac on Feb 2 held a poetry sitting entitled ‘Punjabi Boliaan Da Mushaira’. The sitting was part of the Punjabi Baithak organised by Information and Culture Department in collaboration with Idara Khayal-O-Fun’. It was presided over by Rai Muhammad Khan Nasir. The poets who recited their poetry were Ghulam Hussain Sajid, Saleem Tahir, Gohar, Anees Ahmed, Aslam Shauq, Ajaz Ahmed and a few others.

The institute also organised a two-day cultural festival in collaboration with Amour, an NGO for special persons on Feb 2. An exhibition featuring traditional dresses, flower decoration, shoes and traditional handicrafts was also part of the festival. The festival also included a musical evening held in the auditorium of PILAC where special persons sang folk, national and Sufi songs.

Pilac Director General Dr Sughra Sadaf at the inaugural ceremony of the festival said that special persons were not behind in any field and their efforts in all walks of life were praiseworthy.

English Literary Society held its session entitled ‘Slipstream Literature’ at the Alhamra Adbi Baithak recently.

The session was presided over by Prof Anwarul Haq, whereas the chief guest was Zahid Hassan. Prof Haq while describing Slipstream literature said it’s a genre based on science fiction and fantasy without following traditions, emphasising freedom.

Another speaker Rubia Jilani said Slipstream literature depicted speculative themes with extraordinary events and symbolic characters.

Asim Shujaee said it revolted against realism, exploring the world through the supernatural and unreal.

Marghoob Ahmad termed it odd, difficult to explain, visionary and figurative pieces of writing. He also mentioned a few slipstream writers like Gabriel Garcia, Toni Morrison, Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, Ralph Ellison, Paul Auster, Scarlett Thomas and Steven Hall.

In the end, Mian Salahudin, Comrade Shafique and Husnain Bukhari presented poems related to the topic.

The Lahore Arts Council will put on permanent display a sculpture of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah on the lawns of Alhmara Art Centre, The Mall.

Director Arts and Culture Zulfiqar Ali Zulfi said the fiber glass sculpture made by Rizwan, a Lahore-based sculptor, would be the second in the row as Allama Iqbal’s sculpture had already been on display at the Alhamra for around five years.

He said Quaid’s sculpture will be unveiled in the next 10 days.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2018