Having read Marjorie Hussain’s most engaging and detailed biographical book on Prof. Anna Molka Ahmed, one wondered what more could be written about the grand lady of art in Pakistan. Her struggles, both personal and professional, her pioneering efforts and achievements in the field of art education and the numerous awards that eventually came her way are already well known. Indeed, Anna’s own claim of being the “mother of art in Pakistan” was not an overstatement and there are many stars in the galaxy of our art world who would testify to that. Anna’s elder daughter Zarah Ahmed, an accomplished artist in her own right, further reiterates the unflinching commitment her mother had to art, especially to the Punjab University Art Department that she had set up with such zeal and determination.

“The Art department was my mother’s baby and her first love, and everything else was secondary. My sister Tahira and myself were well looked after, but we knew that we were the number two priority. Art was always number one in her life.” Zarah recalls the immense energy and zeal for life her mother had and how she made sure that her daughters were always creatively occupied.

“Even though mummy was terribly preoccupied with her work at the art department she made sure that we were always kept busy in activities like painting, music and dance, so we never quite felt as if we were being neglected. She encouraged me to learn the sitar and classical dance, and I was able to perform without inhibition in various charity shows. In fact, she loved to dance herself and was invariably the life of informal parties amongst friends and family. She went out of the way to celebrate our birthdays, and would even sit up all night to stitch our clothes if we were in need of a new dress for a special occasion.”

Prof. Anna Molka’s passionate nature nonetheless had its fiery downside, and this too, is common knowledge. She could be overbearing and stubborn, holding on to her own convictions and lashing out aggressively against anyone who failed to understand her point of view. For Zarah, her mother was a complex individual, a larger than life but even contradictory personality who expected a lot from her and was disappointed when she was unable to live up to those standards. This was especially demonstrated when Zara fell in love with artist Colin David, one of Anna’s most promising students. “Colin was my mother’s favourite student because of his talent. But she threw a fit when she got to know of our relationship. I was also a young art student and mummy wanted me to excel at my work and achieve something exceptional in life. She was utterly against the marriage. Nonetheless I did get engaged but under very stringent conditions. Eventually, even though I stood first in the MFA exam, I had to leave home to marry him. Mummy herself had married against her father’s wishes and had left home and had suffered in the process. But history was repeated nonetheless.”

Zarah’s relationship with her mother was a troubled one, but not surprisingly so, keeping in view the quintessential matriarchal personality the pioneering lady had. “My mother was also disappointed by the fact that despite my MFA qualification, I wanted to teach small children rather than at a college or university, but I had my own inclinations and was determined to pursue them. Even though a rebel herself, she found my rebelliousness unacceptable.” Nonetheless, Zarah acknowledges her mother’s admirable qualities “She had the grit to strive against all odds which carried her through no matter what; and I think I have inherited that, at least, from her.”

Mostly well known for her “volatile personality, her vim and vigour, and the love she had for her adopted country,” which spilled onto her large, paint laden canvases and heavily textured sculptures, the sensitive idealist within her can only be seen in her poetry. The book, Poems by Anna Molka, signed with a bold flourish “to Zarah with love from mummy, Anna Molka ‘93”, that was handed to me for reading, has a collection of verses that define the essence of this woman who was once known as Mollie Bridger, converted at 18 from Judaism to Islam of her own conviction, uprooted herself from her European soil to be with the love of her life, and not only replanted herself but nurtured other seedlings that bloomed to fruition. If some areas got bulldozed in the process, one has no choice but to forgive her, and learn from her tribulations.

A romantic at heart, as is apparent when she writes — “ Oh my love, If we had wings of a dove, We would fly far away and keep the world at bay…”, but strong enough to bear the brunt of her passions, as simply, but surely, personified in her poem on “Courage” —

Daylight after Night. Spring when birds sing. Sunshine after rain. So with life’s pain. Confidence does not wane And Courage sustains.”