RENOWNED painter Naheed Raza likes to listen to music while painting, and feels that music is essential for a healthy existence. Says she, “In our busy schedules it gives us space to relax and refresh ourselves and temporarily removes us from life’s problems. Music has been sent down to us by Nature — whether in the form of the pitter-patter of raindrops or the chirping of birds or the whistling of the wind. In order to nurture our souls we must take out time for ourselves, whether it is by listening to music, reading a book, watching a film, or just thinking, and we should do this from an early age.”
A lover of classical and semi-classical music and ghazals, Naheed is fond of Ravi Shankar’s sitar compositions and Indian singer Kishori’s renditions. Says the artist, “Her style reminds me a lot of Roshan Ara Begum. I also like Jagjit’s recent album Forget me not, although normally I find him very depressing and uninspiring. I enjoy Mehdi Hasan and Noor Jehan a lot, too, and some ghazals of Farida Khanum. I was into Iqbal Bano quite a bit at one point, and also like to hear Munni Begum occasionally.”
Naheed Raza says she used to listen to western music when her kids were around, as they loved it, but in recent years the only western singer she cares to listen to is Michael Jackson. “I love his dancing. I find that his movements have a surrealistic touch and you get a feeling of time and space when you see him dance. But, otherwise, I don’t like pop music.”
Although Raza watches a lot of movies, her favourite remains My Fair Lady. She recently saw Frida starring Salma Hayek, and liked it a lot. As for Indian movies, she confesses she sees one a week and has thoroughly enjoyed Baghban, although she admits that the theme is very old. Says Naheed, “Both Amitabh and Hema have acted beautifully in it.” Harrison Ford is one of her favourite actors, and she loves his work in Sabrina, while another of her favourite film is The Cell.
In her student days, Raza used to read a lot of books on philosophy and admits that initially she used to find it difficult to understand them. “I would read Jean Paul Sartre and would often discuss the books with my uncles in order to fully comprehend what I had read.”
She enjoys books related to art, and loved Life with Picasso in which she vividly recalls having read some hilarious incidents about the artist getting into scrapes with the women in his life. Says Naheed, “It is interesting to read about the lives of these great personalities and discover what kind of people they were.” Her advice is simple: “One should always read something that enriches one’s life in some way.”
She recalls that in her school days the teachers used to monitor what the students were reading, so that they could be guided to read some of the most brilliant pieces of literature that kids today are not even aware of. “Sometimes a mere sentence in a good book can transform your whole life and with maturity, you realize the value of reading books on history and literature.”
Ghalib, Mir Anis and Mir Taqi Mir rank among Naheed’s favourite poets and, in her words, their works “enlivens the human soul”. Says Naheed Raza, “Ghalib had a deep knowledge of life and his sensitivity manifests itself in his work. I have read Anis’s marsiyas with keen interest and feel that the two along with Mir have the capacity to paint vivid pictures with words.”
She also enjoys some of Kishwar Naheed’s poems that highlight relationships, and those of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Fehmida Riaz.
Among the novelists, Naheed likes Quratulain Hyder’s works, in particular Aag ka Darya, Peeli Lakeer and Seeta Haran. “She is a wonderful writer and writes as if she is painting a huge mural — sometimes she fills colours in one corner, sometimes another, and builds up a beautiful historical landscape. In Seeta Haran, she has described every city existing in India and Pakistan!”
On the other hand, Naheed doesn’t enjoy Ismat Chughtai, whose language she finds “too vulgar”. Sadat Hassan Manto, though, is also among Naheed’s favourite writers and she thinks he paints a very realistic picture of the people and environment he was surrounded with. She also loves Mushtaq Ahmed Yusufi’s writings, and has especially enjoyed his Aab-e-Gum.
RENOWNED painter Naheed Raza likes to listen to music while painting, and feels that music is essential for a healthy existence. Says she, “In our busy schedules it gives us space to relax and refresh ourselves and temporarily removes us from life’s problems. Music has been sent down to us by Nature — whether in the form of the pitter-patter of raindrops or the chirping of birds or the whistling of the wind. In order to nurture our souls we must take out time for ourselves, whether it is by listening to music, reading a book, watching a film, or just thinking, and we should do this from an early age.”
