FAIZ FEST Series – III

Poet Agha Shahid Ali once wrote about Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poetry – “I listened: and you became, like memory, necessary…”

US-based Sarah Ahmed in her formidable journey, actually walked the poet Faiz’s path of ‘Walk Tall and Walk Alone”… And the world walked with her, as he promised they would, she stood towering boldly taking on the cause of the displaced people of Gilgit Baltistan, a part of what is known in India as Pak occupied Kashmir (PoK). The criticism stemmed from local artists who asserted to be given priority as locals art exhibitors over ‘outsiders’. Undeterred, Salima Hashmi, her teacher stood rock strong with her during this ordeal. And the curtains of the Faiz Fest rose to artist Sarah Ahmed’s “Solo exhibition” at elusive Alhambra Hall, on the opening day, ribbon cutting ceremony performed by Sisters Salima and Monezza Hashmi, daughters of Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

The title of Sarah exhibition thus flowed from the pen of the great poet …‘Tum Apni Karni Kar Guzroo…’ – “You do your deed and move on ..”. And Sarah did exactly that. “Sarah’s work is so luscious, meaningful, evocative, tactile, political, it was nothing but joy, to work for her with Dr Salima Hashmi,” ‘pyaari azadi’ her exhibition curator wrote.

Sarah in an exclusive talk with RASHMI TALWAR during Faiz Fest 2025 in Lahore Pakistan, laid threadbare the efforts that went into creating this assemblage of artwork and the story behind it.

A: They are ‘Hunza Topis’, not Sindhi‘Topis’! Hand-embroidered by women in their homes in Gilgit Baltistan, in villages near Attabad, a region near the Pakistan-China border, especially for this project. They are arranged in the shape of Attabad Lake which was created from the landslide that buried the Attabad village and formed the lake.

My........

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