PESHAWAR: Speakers at a seminar held at the University of Peshawar on Wednesday shed light on various aspects of noted Pashto poet and painter Ghani Khan’s life and contributions and termed him an accomplished artist and sculptor.

The administration of the UoP’s Department of Art and Design conducted a daylong seminar and photo exhibition at Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayum Khan Museum of Archaelogy and Ethology to mark the 21st death anniversary of Ghani Khan. Prof Minhajul Hasan, dean faculty of arts and humanities, chaired the event while Prof Abaseen Yousafzai was the chief guest. Students, teachers, art lovers and fans of Ghani Khan attended the function.

Mashal Khan, the grandson of Ghani Khan, also attended the event and shared details of routine life of his grandfather with the participants.

He said that Ghani Khan was a rebel and a genius in his own right.

Begum Nasim urged to make public Ghani’s rare portraits

He invited young artists to Darul Aman (home of peace), the private art gallery of Ghani Khan located in his hometown, Charsadda.

Photographs of over 100 rare art pieces of Ghani Khan were put on display. The participants demanded a Ghani Khan ‘chair’ in all public sector universities in KP.

They passed three resolutions. The first resolution demanded to raise status of the Department of Art and Design to the college of arts, the second appealed to Begum Nasim Wali Khan to make public rare portraits of Ghani Khan and the third resolution asked to preserve and conserve his art pieces scattered in different places.

Prof Mohammad Sher Ali Khan, head of the Art and Design Department, in his speech pointed out that the objective of the seminar was to explore the hidden aspects of Ghani Khan especially his art and sculpture and to exhibit his art pieces to the students, and public at large to acknowledge Ghani Khan as an excellent painter too.

Other speakers said that Ghani Khan had always been widely known as a great Pashto poet, but a few knew that he had also immensely contributed to art and sculpture.

They said Ghani Khan had little formal education in art, but was a keen observer and had conveyed his message through his powerful lines and strokes. “Ghani Khan was a portrait artist, but he had painted only faces and sculpted heads.

His strokes are clear, bold and full of movement.

He was a staunch representative of the oriental school of art,” they added.

Najma Sahar, a girl student at the department, said that she and her colleagues had for the first time learnt that Ghani Khan had been a great artist and sculptor too.

Professor Fazle Sattar, principal of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa College of Arts, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, in his paper dubbed Ghani Khan as an impressionist and a follower of the Orientalist school of art who was under strong influence of his Bengali art teachers. “For Ghani Khan, face was the most important part of human body which reflects emotions. He portrayed his close friends, relatives and family members,” he commented.

Maimoona Hakeem, a teacher at the UoP’s English Department, said in her paper that Ghani Khan’s poetry was full of rich imagery and beautiful comparisons.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2017