IT was a week marked by a series of cultural activities. On Nov 3, 1975 this newspaper carried a picture of two young vocalists accompanying a prominently-placed news item. It read: a couple of days back, a large number of music lovers at the Arts Council in Karachi enjoyed the performance of Asad Amanat Ali Khan and Hamid Ali Khan, the two budding talents from Ustad Akhtar Husain Khan’s family. It was the first public performance of Asad — the son of Ustad Amanat Ali Khan, and Hamid, the youngest son of Ustad Akhtar Husain Khan — in the city. They gave a quality performance tackling all sophisticated modes of music with confidence. During their three-hour stint on stage, they rendered raga magashi and a thumri sung by Ustad Amanat Ali, Kab aa’o gey. They also presented ghazals of which Insha ji utho, Ye aarzu thi tujhe and Kaisey guzri hai jawani were particularly appreciated by the audience. Not just that, the two youngsters played instruments such as sur mandal, tanpura, sarangi and tabla.Sindh’s Education and Cultural Affairs Minister Pyarali Allana was the chief guest on the occasion.

The provincial minister was in the news the same day again — and later on one more occasion — when it came to light that the project report for setting up a college of fine arts and design in Karachi had been approved at a meeting. The sketch and the master plan would be ready by end of December. The meeting, with Mr Allana in the chair, approved to give admissions to matriculates [to the college] for a three-year diploma and a four-year degree course.

If that was not enough to satiate Karachiites appetite for art, on Nov 7, an exhibition of 30 paintings by Nargis Khalid was inaugurated by Mr Allana at the Arts Council. In her eighth show, the artist had tried to strike a balance between two genres — abstract and realism — holding them together by using bold and rigid lines, at the same time ensuring that her division of surface was more synthetic than analytical. Addressing the guests, the minister said the proposed college of fine arts would be completed in two years, adding that the federal government had agreed to give grant-in-aid to run the institution on the pattern of the National College of Arts, Lahore.

The city’s pluralistic character also came to the fore when on Nov 3 Diwali was celebrated by the Hindu community. Special events were held in the morning under the auspices of the District Schedule Caste Federation and other religious organisations of the community. A variety of programmes arranged for the day included distribution of sweets and singing bhajans as temples were illuminated at night. Radio Pakistan Karachi featured a special show on Diwali.

And on Nov 5, the province’s education secretary, Syed Pannah Ali Shah, claimed that the provincial government would shortly embark on a programme of financial assistance to libraries in Sindh. He said that while opening the book issuance and renewal system at Khaliqdina Hall Library. Good old days!

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2025