KARACHI: The annual convocation ceremony for the students who have earned their diplomas at the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) was held on Tuesday afternoon.

Speaking on the occasion, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who was the chief guest, said his government will keep working to create a favourable environment for the arts and artists because they think it’s their responsibility.

The CM lauded the efforts of Zia Mohyeddin and his team for successfully running Napa.

“Sindh is the land of Sufis who believed in co-existence, plural society and interfaith harmony,” he said and added music, art and culture were the best tools to promote peace and tranquility in the plural society.

He assured Napa of the Sindh government’s assistance, including financial assistance in repairing the Hindu Gymkhana building which was affected by last year’s monsoon rains.

Murad promises favourable environment for art and artists; Napa’s annual convocation held

President Emeritus Zia Mohyeddin delivered the keynote address. He said one of the reasons he refuses to give interviews on television is that they ask him inane questions such as ‘what’s your favourite book’ or ‘what’s your favourite dish’.

“How is it possible for anyone to pinpoint your favourite book? You can nominate your favourite dish, which maybe bangers and mash, and by nominating it you wish to convey that given an option you’d rather have bangers and mash and not biryani,” he said.

Mr Mohyeddin said, “I am an avid reader. Books are for me pure magic, curious, full of other lives and voices, quiet existences raised to the point of exuberance and excitement. Books portray and unearth characters who are perfectly ordinary to begin with and become extraordinary. Books reveal to us the world as it is and sometimes as it ought to be. Books are the only testament to the humanity of human beings. My favourite book is often the last excellent book that I have read, which, if you must know, is N M Rashid’s letters.”

He then talked about classicism, since he’s “frequently dubbed a classist”. He argued, “Any creative work in the past — be it sculpture, painting, drama, architecture, poetry etc — that stimulates the depth of our imagination is classic.”

Mr Mohyeddin also highlighted the importance of culture and what it means to our society. He was of the view that in part of the world no two people agree on the definition of culture.

“In a country like ours dominated by ideological and demagogic concerns rather than cultural, individuals alone worry about matters like taste. In our society the taste that we profess publicly is more often than in contrast with what we cherish in our privacy. We have a private face and a public face… We shall not resolve anything unless we understand that what constitutes our culture includes a relish of pursuits that become forbidden from time to time. We refuse to accept that our culture has been culled out from a multi-civilisation ethos of South Asia… Culture created performing arts,” he said.

He concluded his address by saying, “Our efforts can only bear fruit in a less intolerant society.”

Sindh Culture Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah talked about, in the context of fighting extremism, the time when cultural renaissance took place in South Asia.

The academy’s CEO, Junaid Zuberi, said the diploma holders have now become ambassadors of Napa. He gave a brief background of the institution as well.

Later, diplomas were awarded to the students of the departments of music and theatre.

However, it was strange, and disconcerting for the families of the students, to note that the distribution of diplomas took place quietly, without mentioning the names of the young boys and girls. Their families were waiting to cheer for them.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2023