Srinagar, July 21: The long cherished dream of art and culture lovers in Jammu and Kashmir to have a center for preserving the state’s rich culture would soon be a reality. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday announced that government would soon establish the much-awaited Tehzeeb Mahal in the city center here.
 “It would be set up near (erstwhile) Tourist Reception Center in place of the existing bus stand,” Omar said at a function here organized by Academy of Art, Culture and Languages to release the book “Gul Gulshan Gulfam” of director-turned-author Pran Kishore and the works of his wife, Shanta Koul, titled “Kali Raat Ka Suraj.”
 The book by Kishore is the Kashmiri translation of a popular Urdu serial Gul Gulshan Gulfam of ’90s which portrayed a Kashmiri family making a living from their three houseboats named Gul, Gulshan and Gulfam.
 The Mahal, Omar said, will be a confluence of modern and traditional architecture with a touch of aesthetics.
 About the long delay in setting up of the center, Omar said it was unfortunate that there is no permanent place with the Academy to showcase art and culture.
 “Every Chief Minister talked about it in the past but the center was never established,” he said.
 The idea for setting up Tehzeeb Mahal had come up during the tenure of late Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.
 He (Sheikh) had laid the foundation stone of the center but it was not completed, Omar said.
 The Chief Minister asked Pran Kishore to continue with his works to present real picture of Kashmir in his writings and serials. “I am hopeful you will come up with another work on the lines of Gul, Gulshan and Gulfam and I will personally ensure its approval,” Omar said.
 Kashmir, Omar said, has witnessed “violence” for past 20 years and Bollywood movies made on the Valley would only depict the same. “The pictures only showcased blasts in mosques and mandirs,” he said.
 Speaking on the occasion, Pran Kishore said his serial Gul Gulshan Gulfam started with a whimper and created a storm.
 “It won accolades at national and international levels,” Kishore said. 
 He is credited with directing more than 2000 serials and 12 theaters in his long career with Doordarshan.
 Kishore appreciated the plans of the government to start Kashmiri language as a subject at school and college levels. “Kashmiriyat is incomplete without Kashmiri language,” Kishore said.
 Noted Kashmiri historian, MY Teng, urged the Government of India to include Kashmiri in the list of classic languages. Doing this, he said, would make state beneficiary of Rs 100 crore for setting up of Kashmiri University and it will also mean a separate chair for Kashmiri in every University of India.
 “We are part of the country and we deserve this right,” Teng said. Secretary Academy, Zaffar Manhas, also spoke on the occasion.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:00:00 IST