LAHORE: Some thought-provoking sessions, Sufi music, grand participation of school and university students in calligraphy workshops and book and food stalls featured the third day of the International Islamic Arts Festival at Alhamra, The Mall, on Saturday.

Recorded music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s numbers and other Sufi singers kept the visitors engaged throughout the day. The turnout at the festival was a good on Saturday due to holiday in educational institutions.

The four-day Islamic art festival, being organised by the Lahore Arts Council (LAC) and Pakistan Arts Council of Karachi is continued successfully. On the third day of the festival, various sessions were held in which people who had an interest in the Islamic art participated in large numbers. The seating arrangements were made on the lawns of the Alhamra Art Centre for the visitors. The podium was well decorated with illuminations and flowers as Sufi singer Tehseen Sakina enthralled a big gathering in the evening.

The third day of the festival started with the a session, titled “Splendors of Muslim Achievements,” in which Dr Tehniyat Majeed from LUMS spoke on the illustrated page with the horoscope of a Timurid prince, Prof Dr Rafya Tahir from the University of Punjab spoke on The Aesthetics of Mughal Style of Illumination in Quran Manuscripts, Calligraphic Masterpiece, Mass Produced Scripture, Early Quran Printing in Colonial India by Prof Urlik Stark from Chicago University, USA, presented by Shariq Khan and Najia Farhat from the Fatima Jinnah Women University Islamabad spoke on Exploring the Unostentatious: Weaponry and Muslim Miniature Painting.

The second session of the day started with Moderator Dr Attya Sayed and Faiza Noon from Hast-o-Neest Institute of Traditional Art and Studies spoke on Cosmology and Symbolism of Miniature Paintings and retired Lt Gen Humayun Khan Bangash spoke on MEEM– A bouquet of Reverence “Heliya Shareef,”.

The calligraphy workshop, titled Aesthetic and Beauty of Thulth Script, was conducted by Prof Davud Bekta from Fateh Sultan Mehmed University, Istanbul, Turkey.

Sufi poetry and Sufism are significant in Islamic arts. For this purpose, Sufi music was performed on all four days of the festival. On the third day, famous singer Tahseen Sakina enthralled a large audience. She sang a number of Sufi items such as Teray Ishq Nachaya Karke Thaya Thaya, Mein Nara-e-Mastana, Jab Say Tu Nay Mujhay Diwna Bana Rakha Hai.

Sunday (today) is the final Day of festival. Provincial Minister Mohsin Leghari will be the chief guest in the closing ceremony.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2022