KARACHI: Some of us believe that it is the artist community that makes use of memories like no other segment of society. The reason is that those who create know the importance of the past — both in terms of historical events and personalities — which serves as a reference point for them to compare things with contemporary times and move on to pursue their dreams. But can this be held true of our very own art fraternity?

Tuesday, July 28, was Shahid Sajjad’s sixth death anniversary. To refresh memory, he was Pakistan’s finest sculptor, and many believed was second to none. His works — mostly done in bronze, wood and iron — still adorn quite a few important places in the country. He was a sculptor to his fingertips, a noteworthy example of how art and artist seamlessly merge making it difficult to identify which is which.

It wouldn’t be wrong to suggest that in the last decade or so, the way the business of art has blossomed in the country, especially in Karachi, is pretty unprecedented. There are a dozen or more quality art galleries in the city that hold exhibitions on a regular basis, and there are groups that keep coming up with ideas to take paintings and sculptures into the public sphere — of course, with the help of big companies and donors. Now that things are being done online, enabling anyone who has internet access to log on to see what’s transpiring in every walk of life, one was expecting that someone or the other from the world of art would organise an event in honour of Sajjad. Not to be. Yes, there have been Zoom meetings and online shows, but none for that soul who when he was alive had a host of admirers, gallery owners and critics fawn over him.

Sajjad, like every creative person worth his salt, was deeply interested in other forms of expression, foremost of which was poetry. He was fond of Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib. In a couple of meetings with him, I heard him read the following verse by the Urdu poet, which I also referenced in his obituary for this newspaper:

Hasti ke mat fareb mein aa jayo Asad
Alam tamam halqa-i-daam-i-khayal hai

[Do not get drawn into the deception of existence
The universe is but a ringlet in the web of thought]

Six years after his death, it is more than evident why he liked these two lines.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2020