KARACHI: The Walled City of Lahore Authority’s Cultural Troupe will perform at the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) from June 27 for four days.

This was announced at a press conference on Tuesday evening.

Speaking to the media, Napa CEO Junaid Zubairi said the theme of the event is ‘from the walled city to the city of the sea’.

“As you may know, there’s a Walled City of Lahore Authority headed by Kamran Lashari who is involved in the restoration of the walled city and Lahore Fort where he organises cultural and folk performances. We have invited Mr Lashari and all those performers to Napa. There will be a variety of performances including classical dance, folk singing and percussion sessions in the show.

“Basically it is a troupe coming from Lahore performing in the city of the sea. The entire programme is curated by Mr Lashari. It will last from June 27 to June 30. The event will kick off with a presentation by Mr Lashari in which he will share his ‘restoration experience’ of Lahore,” he said.

The CEO also read out a brief statement encapsulating the whole idea.

Hamza Jafri, head of Napa’s music department, said there is a dhol playing culture in Punjab. “Every Thursday, the dhol is played at the mazaars. It is a spiritual experience. These days Saen Abbas is actively playing it. He will be coming as part of the troupe.”

After giving a short intro to the percussionist, he told the media that Saen Abbas has performed for the popular band Overload as well.

Mr Jafri then talked about the father-daughter duo of classic dance, Zakarya and Jessica Iqbal. They will be performing in Karachi for the first time. “We are very excited to host them.”

Another Napa member working on the academic side, Arsalan, informed journalists about the Punjabi folk vocalist Fazal Jat, son of the singer Ashiq Jat. “He sings Punjab’s epic tales such as those of Heer-Ranjha and Mirza-Sahiban. The other performance along with Jat is that of dancer Raja Mughal.”

Mr Zubairi said Napa will encourage the students to come and watch the show.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2024