LAHORE: The Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture (Pilac) will soon inaugurate a mural that was commissioned to veteran artist Aslam Kamal in 2014to project Punjab and its people and spread the message of love, peace and tolerance as preached by the Sufi poets of the land.

The project has been completed with just the final touches left.The six-year delay in completion of the mural was caused by the deteriorating health of Mr Kamal, who is around 80 years old.

Pilac Director Asim Chaudhry told Dawn on Monday that the institute will soon organise a grand ceremony to inaugurate the mural at the Punjab Museum where visual artists, calligraphers and other guests would be invited. He said the one-of-its-kind mural depicted a true picture of Punjab’s cultural heritage and tradition.Titled ‘Creative Past of Punjab’, the size of the mural is 12 feet by eight feet and it has been painted in oil.

The mural depicted Sufi poets Baba Farid, Shah Hussain, Sultan Bahu, Bulleh Shah, Waris Shah, Khawaja Ghulam Farid and Mian Muhammad Bakhsh.

Mr Kamal is a recipient of the Pride of Performance award and is renowned for his calligraphy and paintings for book covers. He is also known for creating a unique Urdu/Persian calligraphic font known as ‘Khat-i-Kamal’. He is credited with authoring many books such asKasab-i-Kamal,Qalam Mu Qalam,Islami Khattati: An Introduction,Gumshuda,Lahore Se Cheen Tak,Aslam Kamal Oslo MeinandGardposh.

His paintings are on display at the Aiwan-i-Iqbal, Punjab University’s Pharmacy Department and Aslam Kamal Art Gallery, Aiwan-i-Quaid in Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2020