LAHORE: The Alhamra Art Center, Mall Road, is festooned with big flexes bearing Faiz Ahmed Faiz’ images and his poetry as the three-day 7th Faiz Festival kicked off on Friday.

The festival is an annual event being organised by the Faiz Foundation Trust in collaboration with the Lahore Arts Council (LAC).

On Friday, there were sitting arrangements on the lawns of Alhamra, the audio recordings, mostly of Nayyara Noor and Abida Parveen, was an added attraction for the visitors. People from different walks of life and age group, especially the youth, could be witnessed attending the festival. There was also a food court for the visitors.

The festival opened with the inaugural ceremony held outside Alhamra Art Gallery along with the inauguration of an exhibition of artworks featuring eight artists from India and Pakistan whose works depicted the current situation of society in both the countries.

Salima Hashmi, speaking on the occasion, said Alhamra reminded her of the personalities such as Abdur Rahman Chughtai, M.D. Taseer, Imtiaz Ali Taj and Faiz Ahmed Faiz as they were the people who strived to give Lahore a rich culture. These people had the realization that cultural rights of the people along with human rights were extremely important.

Danish Hussain, a story teller from India, thanked Faiz Foundation for inviting him and his compatriots to the festival.

Arvinder Chamak, a poet from India who spoke in Punjabi, said the Indian delegation had brought love and peace for Pakistan from across the border. He said Faiz Ahmed Faiz was equally popular in India, as well.

Atul Tiwari, a writer and actor from across the border, said he was participating in the festival for the fifth time.

Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa welcomed the Indian delegation and held Faiz’ family in high esteem for holding the festival.

The exhibition titled, ‘Tell Us What to Do’ at the art gallery was inaugurated by three children and not by delegates or the officials.

Ms Hashmi said since children were our future, she had asked the children to inaugurate the exhibition.

The exhibition has eight artists from India and Pakistan reflecting upon the debilitating human conditions on both sides of the borders in the hope to spread peace, hope and courage.

The title of this group show is borrowed from Faiz’s poem: Tum Hi Kaho Kiya Karna Ha? The featured artists include Abdul Hadi, Farida Batool, Gargi Raina, Imran Qureshi, Nalini Malani, Shah Abdullah Alamee, Unum Babar, and Yasir Waqas.

At the opening day of the festival, the Ajoka Theatre staged their famous play, Anhi Mai Da Sufna, written and directed by Shahid Nadeem. It was originally directed by eminent Indian theatre director the late Usha Ganguli who had come to Lahore to work with Ajoka artists. The play was produced by Ajoka’s late founder Madeeha Gauhar in 2016 and has since been performed in Lahore, Islamabad, Delhi, Chandigarh and Amritsar. It told the story of Janki and Rangu with a lot of songs, dances and humour in an interesting cinematic style. The set with minimal props relied mainly on an imaginative use of fabric. The cast included Ajoka’s Razia Malik, Naseem Abbas, Mohammad Qaiser, Fahad Hashmi, Shehzad Sadiq, Bilal Mughal, Usman Zia, Rabil, Haifa, Sumavia, Rania, Yusra and Anish. The music team included Kanwal Christopher, Anita, Thomas and Asad, while the set and lights was designed by Nadeem Mir.

The story of the play was inspired by true stories of the generation dislocated during the 1947 Partition and it was set in 1971 when travel between India and Pakistan was suspended. Old and blind Janki, living in India, insisted on visiting her native village in Pakistan. Her family found an ingenious way to make an old woman’s dream a reality. Interwoven with Mai Janki’s story was the story of Ustad Rangu Rangsaz who stayed back in Lahore at the time of the Partition. He loved his Lahore but also longed to attend her granddaughter’s wedding in India. He also crossed in an unusual way. The dreams and reality or imagined journeys of the Mai Janki and Rangu Rangsaz were the basis of the play. It celebrated the resilience of human spirit in the face of despair and was a tribute to the hopes and desires of the people of South Asia for peace and goodwill.

There was also a musical performance in the evening that featured Shafqat Amanat Ali. The regular sessions of the festival will start from Saturday (today).

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2023