A three-day tourism fair, a couple of exhibitions of paintings and an adaptation of a Shakespeare's play staged at Government College University auditorium were the highlights of cultural events in Lahore during the week ending Sunday, January 21, 2007.
On January 18, the three-day Pakistan Tourism Fair opened under media hype at Expo Centre, Fortress Stadium, Lahore at which 180 stalls of handicrafts, textile industry, jewellery, light lamps and others that dispensed information about local and foreign tour operators, airlines, hotel and embassies in Pakistan were put up. Punjab Minister for Tourism, Aslam Iqbal, who inaugurated the fair reminded the attendees at the inaugural ceremony that the provincial government was making all out efforts to promote tourism, which was manifest in the organisation mega tourism fare through the Punjab Tourism Development Corporation.
Minister Aslam Iqbal also said that since the beginning of year 2007 the Punjab government had initiated a series of colourful events like the Marathon Race in which runners from over two dozens countries participated, the Pakistan Tourism Fair and the Cholistan Jeep Rally. He believed those events would serve as a catalyst for the growth of tourism in the Punjab and Pakistan.
Twenty-eight countries participated in the tourism fair. On the opening day, two performances were made by the cultural troupes of Uzbekistan and the Philippines.
The Chughtai Art Home was the venue of the opening on January 17 of an exhibition of miniature paintings done by late Abdur Rehman Chughtai before his death in 1975. Over 30 pieces of the works of the master painter were put on display, which were viewed and appreciated by a large number of visitors, including art students, connoisseurs, art teachers and critics, and media persons.
Arif Chughtai, the son of the late world-renowned painter, founder of Chughtai Art Home and organizer of the exhibition claimed that his father was infatuated by the art of story telling, which he effectively communicated though his paintings.
On January 18, a solo exhibition of the works of painter-poet Raja Changez Sultan (formerly Director-General, Pakistan National Council of the Arts) opened at the Royaat Art Gallery, which is located very next to the Lahore Arts Council. Titled Mystic Experience, the exhibition included the epic "Himalayan Odyssey" series and "The Divided Self", which pointed to an exciting and audacious investigation into the properties of form and colour. A renowned poet and an accomplished painter Raja Sultan has held a number of solo exhibitions of his paintings both in Pakistan as well as abroad.
A viewer without much efforts can experience from his works the vague and mystic entities, which lurk in the unique images created by the painter. Raja Changez Sultan crafts a number of images with his words as well as colour spilling brush. A widely acclaimed artist he began composing poems during his teens. The opening line of his first poem inspired him to paint one of his most celebrated paintings now titled "The Divided Self".
On January 17, the Government College University Dramatic Club (previously known as GCDC) staged Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum's Punjabi adaptation of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream play "Sawan rain da sufna" at the Bokhari Auditorium of the University. Directed by Danish Jehangir Khan, Secretary of the Club, who also played the role of Badshah while Fahad Noor kept the audiences engaged by playing the mischievous Fitna. Other members of the cast Fasiha Afghan, Madeeha Gul, Saba Arshad and Najwa Farooq enacted their roles in a convincing manner.
The Shakir Ali Museum in Lahore, which has remained closed for repairs and renovation, is likely to reopen for all sorts of cultural activities, including exhibitions of paintings, poetry recitals, music concerts and other related activities.
The Lahore Book Street, a brainchild of a former District Coordination Officer Khalid Sultan seems to have become a victim of bureaucratic wrangling, lethargy and paucity of funds. The apathetic attitude of WASA officials towards the completion of a rainwater channel at the project site is also blamed for the delay in the completion of the project, which has remained pending for a couple of years and despite promises of the City District Government it has not yet been made operative.
The owners of commercial theatre in Lahore, taking advantage of the failure of film industry, have been overcharging theatre-goers for a long time. Taking cognisance of the greed of the owners, District Coordination officer has now served a warning on them on the impending action by CDG, if the overcharging went on unabated any longer. It may be recalled that theatre owners in the city were allowed to increase the ticket price on the eve of Eid only with the permission of CDG. However, the owners and producers of stage shows have not brought the prices of admission tickets down to the pre-Eid period.