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SHAANAKHT FESTIVAL 2009.
By Mishelle Raza
The Festival held from 9th – 11th Nov 2009, was a free, and open to the public event
‘This is not the time for forty million women of Pakistan to sit quietly.’ Women across the country in 1947 sat up and took notice of Begum Raana Liaqat’s words. It was time to roll up their sleeves and get to work – Pakistan was a fledgling nation with no identity, except that of a Muslim state molded painstakingly from the rubble of a hasty British exit from the subcontinent. During the 1940s and 1950s, Pakistani women joined their brave sisters who had struggled for Partition – they participated in jalsas, led demonstrations on the streets, courted arrest, ran clandestine radio stations and shed the veil as a form of protest.
This exhibition was just one of many – CAP delved into the lives of the young Pakistan Air Force in Parvaz, charting their transfer from the Royal Indian Airforce to Pakistan. Never-before-seen photographs of dashing young men at P.A.F. soirees mingled with portraits of mess life. A break from the Karachi heat offered a look at rare photographs of pre-Partition Kashmir in Forgotten Paradise and reveled on the beauty of the region.
In “Hashim Raza: Life of an Extraordinary Pakistani,” photographs culled from the considerable archives of one of Pakistan’s first civil servants left all visitors amazed. Another exhibition, Sunehrey Sapney: Pakistani Cinema in the 1960s was a journey through the golden age of Pakistani cinema with a display of some amazing original film posters, snippets of films and songs from the CAP Film Archive and recollections of cinema-lovers, critics and those within the industry. Also featured was a dose of the silver-screen, Chandni Raatein – three nights of film screenings under the stars – the magic of blockbusters Koel, Sassi and Armaan were brought back to life at the festival. Visual artist Amean J. also paid tribute to the extraordinary contributions of ordinary citizens to Karachi in Karachiites.
Families with children were welcome to pay a visit to CAP’s Imagination Stations, which kept children entertained at the festival with cartoons, 3-D photographs and interactive art activities along with an exhibition of some of the most beautiful vintage cars in the country.
On the 9th of November, Tehrik-e-Niswan and CAP presented Sheema Kirmani’s Rang Badal Lo Bhai. On the 10th of November, The Citizens Archive of Pakistan and Still Waters Publishing explored Pakistan’s rich literary landscape, as six renowned writers including Fahmida Riaz, Haseena Moin, Ilona Yusuf, Mohammad Hanif and Musharraf Ali Farooqi read their favorites from Pakistani literature in Urdu and English. The evening was hosted by Feryal Gauhar and concluded with a musical performance by Laal.
On the 11th, CAP welcomed guests to Raag and Roll – an evening of musical fusion that proved to be a feast for the ears!
Popular Pakistani bands Fuzon, Noori, Aunty Disco Project and Taal Karisma joined traditional folk singers for a unique musical collaboration.
The Citizens Archive of Pakistan is a not-for-profit educational institution and heritage centre, established in February 2007, with the aim of strengthening civil society and giving full rein to the creativity of Pakistanis, allowing them to explore their heritage and history. CAP’s largest projects to date – the Oral History Project and Government School Outreach Tours – are part of a wider attempt to showcase Pakistan’s history and celebrate our nation’s achievements.
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