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Cultural encounter
With limited options available for fashion designers based in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi to showcase their creativity, the more enterprising among them never let an opportunity pass them by. And so when Isloo’s leading haute couturier, Amna Malik, was approached by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) to hold a fashion-cum-cultural gala to entertain the foreign delegates there to attend the general assembly of the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT), they found her only too willing. More so as it was rumoured that President Pervez Musharraf and the First Lady would also attend the event.
To start off with, the designer hired the hip Islamabad-based choreographer Rezz Aly Shah of Rezz Events to help her put together the cultural show, depicting some comely and attractive aspects of our cultural heritage. The result was a splendid coming together of fashion and culture with Amna Malik providing her ensembles at the colourful bonanza. Moreover, Rezz also lent his talents to direction, script and voice-over.
The event kicked off to a foot-stomping start at a reputed hotel in Pindi with Balochi and Khattak dance performances by Tehreema and Indu Mitha’s dance troupe. A classical dance presentation followed which went down very well thanks to Saba’s stately pirouetting — a tribute to the Indus Valley civilization — which no doubt created a lasting impact specially on the foreign guests as their demands for an encore led to it being presented a second time round.
The sequence on Mughal queens was a grand affair with models Aleena, Sehar, Kiran, Saba and Mohini. Our colonial past also came under the spotlight with Zeeshan and Saba taking the audience back to the days of the gora sahib with a well-choreographed ballroom dance followed by the birth of Pakistan. The song and dance performance by Rabi Peerzada was another highlight of the evening with the newcomer perking up the evening with her energetic presence.
The most striking and colourful aspect of the show was the depiction of wedding festivities such as mehndi, doli and rukhsati. The queen of this segment was Natasha Hussain (Nattie) who looked ravishing as a traditional Pakistani bride while the groom’s role was also handled admirably by Fahd Gilani. The festivity of Basant was performed next with Natasha, Aleena, Fahd and others recreating the gaiety of the kite-flying frenzy associated with the coming of spring.
The October 8 quake having left a profound, solemn impact on the entire nation, the mime performance on Kashmir pulled at many a heart strings. It started off on a cheerful note symbolizing the beauty and colour of Kashmir through Hadiqa Kiyani’s Man De Mauj, followed by the darkness of the earthquake and then a candlelight vigil depicting hope and optimism.
In his speech after the grand finale, President Musharraf felicitated the entire team for putting up a “jolly good show” and made some candid remarks that hinted at his a good sense of humour.
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