KARACHI: A photo exhibition to commemorate the 67th Independence Day of Pakistan organised by the Sindh culture, tourism and antiquities department opened at the Quaid-i-Azam House on Wednesday afternoon.

The department must be congratulated for choosing the Quaid-i-Azam House as the venue for the event because the stone structure, originally designed as Flagstaff House, is a sight that transports the viewer back in time. So it was expected that the show would do more than justice to the idea. But it has to be said, with a fair degree of sadness, that given the beauty and historicity of the building where the event is being held, the organisers could have made a better effort. The whole exhibition is confined to one room alone and it carries pictures mostly of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. There is no chronological order to the photos. And the documents that have been put on one side of the wall, for example, a welcome address to the Quaid-i-Azam by the Balochistan Muslim Students Federation, are not accompanied by proper captions. Still, in this day and age, remembering your forefathers and those whom the nation is indebted to should be looked at favourably.

Now to the exhibits: there are portraits of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Quaid-i-Millat Liaquat Ali Khan, Sir Syed, Allama Iqbal, Hasrat Mohani, Begum Shahnawaz and Sir Aga Khan, among others.

Then photos showing the Quaid addressing large gatherings, such as the one in Delhi in 1943, follow. His pictures with prominent leaders such as Qazi Essa are also there. A couple of interesting images showing Mr Jinnah having a good time in Kashmir are a nice way of showing the great leader in a lighter mood.

The exhibition will run till Aug 20.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2014