ISLAMABAD: An exhibition titled ‘Saqi Nama’ opened on Tuesday at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA).

The exhibition commemorated the 150th birth anniversary of Allama Mohammad Iqbal.

Celebrating the poetic vision and philosophical legacy of Allama Iqbal, the exhibition brought together the artistic expressions of three artists, Geytee Ara, Lubna Jehangir and Zarar Haider Babry, in response to Allama Mohammad Iqbal’s poem. It will remain open until November 18.

‘Saqi Nama’ brings together three artists, each with a distinct voice, perspective, and medium, in response to a single poem.

Iqbal’s ‘Saqi Nama’ is among the most celebrated poems in Urdu and Persian literary tradition.

The artists approached the poem with reverence and with an awareness of the master artists who had interpreted it before them. Each work takes a single couplet as its point of departure and becomes an independent encounter with the verse.

Geytee Ara explores the ways material carries memory. Through form, surface and touch, she seeks a language in which inherited ideas can meet the urgency of the present, and finds in ‘Saqi Nama’ a space for reflection on selfhood, renewal and the courage to become.

Lubna Jehangir returns to rhythm, movement, and illumination. Colour becomes both atmosphere and inquiry, a way to approach the poem’s inner landscapes while allowing each work to keep its own silence and mystery.

Zarar Haider Babry considers ascent, struggle and transformation as visual states. Iqbal’s poetry is his point of departure, while line, colour, and gesture create an independent encounter with energy, aspiration, and the evolving self.

Together, these works suggest that the courage to become belongs to every stage of life. They invite the viewer to pause, look closely, and take the poem’s cup as an invitation to see oneself anew.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2026