LAHORE: The seventh three-day International THAAP Conference on ‘People and the City’ began on Friday in collaboration with the Government College University and the Information Technology University together with the support of Higher Education Commission and Society for Cultural Education (Forthcoming University of Culture and Art).

Also, the THAAP Photography Conference in collaboration with Camera for People and an art exhibition in collaboration with Ejaz Art Gallery have also been organised that will continue till Nov 14.

The inaugural day was attended by scholars from Australia, Austria, China, France, Germany, Iran, Nepal, the USA, the UK and Pakistan.

Prof Pervaiz Vandal, conference convener, explained the conference theme. “Without people, a city or town would be a soulless mass of debris,” he said. “People make a city happen; they bring it forth, give it character, endow it with art and culture, fulfill aspirations and suffer frustrations.” Michal Glikson, a PhD candidate at the Australian National University, read his paper titled ‘Art and Immersion: Notes from a Painter (Re)imagining the City’. The paper explored how art reflected lived experiences of traveling in its form and content, whilst yielding insights into the relationships between people and places in different environments across Australia, India and Pakistan.

Rehana Lafont, an author, translator, traveller and entrepreneur, presented the second paper titled ‘17 Years in Lahore: A Frenchman’s Life in the Punjabi Capital’. The paper discussed Lahore’s day-to-day life in different contexts by taking into account the experiences of various French officials. The third paper was presented by Dr Jonathan Shapiro Anjaria from Anthropology at Brandeis University, USA. His paper on ‘Cycle Sheher: Gender, Freedom and the Bicycle in India’ explored the existing trends of cycling in the urban culture of Mumbai. ‘Retreating Akhara Culture in Expanding Metropolitan’ was presented by Umair Ghani, a photographer, and Amna Yaseen, a photographer and painter pursuing her MPhil in art history. Their paper discussed the rapid decline in appreciation for traditional physical exertions or ‘Pehalwans’ as a result of urbanism in Punjab.

Prof Dr Shuxi Yin from the Hefei University in China presented the paper on ‘Spirituality in Beijing and Shanghai’. The paper examined the dynamics of spirituality among the middle classes in Beijing and Shanghai, the two biggest cities of China with distinct regulatory environments, historical and social backgrounds. Saniya Jafri, an architect and teaching fellow at the University of Culture and Art (forthcoming), read the paper on ‘The Ambiguity of Sacredness: Offerings, Images and Symbols Exploring the Mazaar of Bibi Pak Daaman, Lahore’. The paper explored the concept of a mazaar in the subcontinent, while exploring sacredness and socio-narratology in the stories inhabiting its spaces. She was followed by Khola Cheema, a PhD candidate at Department of History, Quaid-i-Azam University, who presented a paper on, ‘Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh’.

Published in Dawn November 12th, 2016