‘Portrait of Lahore’ begins

The Trust for History Arts and Architecture of Pakistan (THAAP) series of conferences and cultural events commenced Friday. Scholars and delegates from UK, Sweden, USA, India, Iran, Belgium and Germany would be presenting papers at the conference along with scholars and historians from Pakistan.
Functions in collaboration with the Lahore Arts Council would continue till November 18, 2011. The conference kicked-off Friday evening with a play by Ajoka Theatre titled ‘Mera Rang De Basanti Chola’, written by Shahid Nadeem and directed by Madeeha Gauhar. It honoured Punjabi freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and gave the audience a run-through of his struggle and execution.
Participating institutions included Beaconhouse Information Technology, Kinnaird College for Women, National College of Arts, University of Engineering and Technology, University of Punjab, University of South Asia, Ajoka Theatre, Lahore Arts Council, Punjab Arts Council, Punjab Lok Rahs, Punjab Lok Sujag, Sanjh Publications and THAAP.
THAAP is a non-profit registered trust established in 2006 with the aim of exploring, strengthening, and extending the rich culture of the region and its expressions in art and architecture in Pakistan, while also promoting a brand of objective history. Under THAAP, international history conferences are held annually, while seminars, colloquiums and consultative meetings are also organised throughout the year. On Sunday, an exhibition of students’ work would be held at Al-Hamra Arts Council, followed by a book fair and a cultural evening. On Monday, a crafts exhibition and a ‘Folk Sangeet Akath’ would be held in Hazoori Bagh.
On Tuesday and Wednesday films from Iran and short films on Lahore would be shown, while on Thursday, there would be a view of Lahore by Majeed Sheikh, Shaukat Nawaz Raja and Khalid Ahmed. On the last day, Friday, a mushaira would be held.
DAY 1 – PAPERS PRESENTED BY SCHOLARS ON LAHORE: The first day of the THAAP conference began with an introduction of the NGO presented by Prof Pervaiz Vandal. He spoke about the aim of the conference, which endeavours to initiate a discourse amongst academics on historiography and the teaching of art, design and architecture.
He emphasised that teachers were the backbone of education, adding that fragmented knowledge had distorted our understanding of ourselves. He said it was critical that a better understanding of the current situation and the complexities of Pakistani society be acquired.
The schedule for the day comprised four concentrated sessions of paper presentations and discourse on vital issues concerning Lahore. The first session was chaired by Dr Mubarik Ali, a renowned historian and scholar. The session opened with a rendition of poems by Prof Shahnawaz Zaidi, a renowned artist, painter, sculptor, poet and actor, capturing his ‘Lahori Experience’.
This was followed by a paper by Nida Rehman, an architect with a Masters from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) University who spoke about the two rivers of Lahore, the Ravi and the canal. The last presentation of the first session was by Dr Jawaid Haider, an architect and professor from the US. He touched upon the sensitive issue of street children and their right to public space. The second session was chaired by Dr Priyaleen Singh, a conservation and landscape architect from Delhi and was initiated with a paper by Saba Samee, an architect and buildings archaeologist, discussing the tombs of Anarkali and Jahangir and the urban symbolism that they represented. This paper was followed by a paper by Hala Bashir from Beaconhouse University, who presented a historical perceptive of the house form in her paper on postcolonial domestic architecture in Lahore. It was followed by a joint research paper by Dr Neelum Naz and Saadia Ahmed on the historical and spatial portrait of Naulakh Bazaar of Lahore.
The third session was chaired by UET Department of Architecture Head Dr Abdul Rehman, and began with a paper by Imran Yasin Sheikh, an engineer, discussing the water vision of Lahore. The next speaker, Ahmad Azhar’s paper was presented by CIIT Islamabad Campus Department of Architecture and Design Head Samra Khan, an architect. The paper titled ‘Railway and the Making of Modern Lahore’ gave a perspective on the impact of the railways on the urban landscape of Lahore. A presentation about Lahore and its pre- and post-industrial phases was made by Waqar Ahmed, a business manager and expert in the London real estate market. A discussion session followed the paper and the session was concluded with a tea break.
The last session of the day was chaired by CIIT, Lahore Campus Department of Architecture and Design Head Dr Khalid Bajwa, an urbanist and architect. The first paper presented was by Dr Afshan Bokhari, an art historian, who was not able to attend due to visa issues, however, her paper was presented by University of Punjab Department of Architecture Head Dr Anis Siddiqi. The second paper was presented by Dr Nadhra Shahbaz Naeem discussing the Hazuri Bagh Bara Dari and its Sikh period architectural influences. This was followed by a paper presentation by Dr Ghafer Shahzad on the shrines shaping the city of Lahore.