EMINENT artist Shakir Ali passed away on Jan 27, 1975 in Lahore. The next day, on Jan 28, a condolence meeting for the painter, who also served as principal of the prestigious National College of Arts (NCA) in the Punjab capital for more than a decade, was held at Karachi’s Indus Gallery. Rich tributes were paid to Prof Shakir Ali as one of the pioneers of modern art in Pakistan and for his humanism, impressionism and purity of expression in abstract and figurative paintings. Presided over by eminent scholar Sibte Hasan, speakers at the meeting included art lovers and practitioners such as Gulgee, Ahmed Parvez, Ali Imam, Ajmal Husain, Bashir Mirza, Rashid Ahmed Rashid, Jamil Mirza, Dr Akber Naqvi and Hameed Zaman. Mr Hasan in his presidential address pointed out that throughout his career Prof Ali remained a humanist which distinctly reflected in his works. He used birds and flowers as symbols of love, peace and beauty. Apart from being an outstanding painter, Prof Ali gave a meaningful shape to an important institution of art in the country — NCA. “In fact, it was Shakir Ali who built the National College of Arts in Lahore from scratch. For this contribution, he will be long remembered,” he remarked. Highlighting the theme and messages of Prof Ali’s artistic output, the scholar observed that some of his paintings carried the influence he had absorbed from Rilke, the great mystic German poet.

This newspaper carried an article on Prof Ali by the painter par excellence himself Ahmed Parvez on Jan 28 which began with the following words: “The year 1975 leaves us in a wretched pitch of grief. We have lost not one but two most significant painters — Abdur Rehman Chughtai and Shakir Ali. [Chughtai had died on Jan 17.] Shakir’s death certainly casts a tremendous shadow of grief on me because I have had a very deep, personal association with him for over two decades.”

The illustrious individuals mentioned above earned respect all over the world by expressing themselves through the visual medium. But Pakistan was also making its presence felt on the global stage with its performing artists. On Jan 30, the well-known qawwal party of Ghulam Farid Sabri and Maqbool Sabri left for the US from Karachi following an invitation from the Performing Art Programme of Asia Society, New York. They had also received invitations from associations in the UAE, Denmark, Norway, Libya, Canada, Fiji and from the Pakistan embassies in Damascus, London and Kabul.

Remaining on the subject of travelling to other countries by air, the national airline hogged the headlines that week as well. On Jan 31, a new outfit for PIA’s airhostesses was introduced to the media at a simple ceremony held in the city. The tricolour uniform which they were to put on from Feb 1, was a modified version of the Pakistani shalwar-kamiz. Hardy Amies, designer to the Queen of England, who was commissioned to design the uniform had chosen bright colours that had been popular with Pakistani women through the ages. The old outfit was introduced in 1967.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2025