Saifi Sopori remembered on his Ist anniversary
Rich tributes were paid to prominent Urdu Poet and Educationist Saifi Sopori on his 1st Death Anniversary.
A function was organised at the Academy Head Quarters, Lal Mandi Srinagar which was attended by prominent writers and educationists. The function was presided over by Justice (Rtd.) Bashir Ahmad Kirmani, while Gh Nabi Masoodi younger brother of Saifi Sopori and Secretary JKAACL Dr Aziz Hajini was also in the presidium.
Hajini described Saifi Sopori as a towering poet of Urdu language who has contributed a lot to Urdu poetry. Rafiq Raaz delivered an extension lecture under the topic “SHAR KAY MUHASIN O MUAAYIB” which was followed by a discussion. Gh Nabi Masoodi highlighted contribution of Saifi Sopori in various fields which include poetry and translation. Dr Rafiq Masoodi, Dr Shafaq Sopori, Dr Nazir Azad and Mr. Shahnaz Rashid also paid tributes to Saifi Sopori.
In his presidential speech, Justice (Rtd.) Bashir Ahmad Kirmani paid tributes to Saifi Sopori for his immense contribution to Urdu literature. Among other people who were present on the occasion include Syed Zishan Fazil, Rukhsana Jabeen, G.R.Hasrat Gadda, Mohammad Amin Bhat, Syed Shabeeb Rizvi, Nelofar Naz Nehvi, Ali Ahmad Khan, Kachoo Asfandyar Khan, Gh Rasool Azad, Mushtaq Keni, Dildar Ashraf Shah, Mushtaq Sopori, Shafi Ahmad, Gulshan Badrani, Sarwar Bulbul, Maqbool Ferozi, Mushtaq Sopori, Yousuf Sameem.
Proceedings of the function were conducted by Saleem Salik, while Mohammad Ashraf Tak chief Editor JKAACL presented Vote of thanks.
Pragnya Wakhlu’s album Kahwa Speaks released
After receiving acclaim for her debut album ‘Journey to the Sun’, New Delhi based Kashmiri singer Pragnya Wakhlu, has released her sophomore album ‘Kahwa Speaks’.
With the new album, the singer has ventured deeper into the metaphors, cultural figures and musical styles that continue to enrich the state of J&K.
The album’s title track ‘Kahwa Speaks’ uses Kahwa (a traditional Kashmiri tea) as a metaphor for human life. In the same way that the various ingredients of Kahwa come together forming a beautiful brew; the song questions, “Can we do the same as a society and bring a more positive, emphatic and prosperous human paradigm with more acts of love and kindness?”
Influenced by the unique singing style of Ladishah, the song alternates between poetry and music.
The music video for Kahwa Speaks, explores the by-lanes and villages of Kashmir, with Pragnya sharing her music and interacting with the people of the valley. Directed and shot by local filmmakers, Rumaan Hamdaani and Xulkarnain Dev; the video gives the viewer a glimpse into the daily life of people in Kashmir and their love for community, through an unconventional lens.
The video explores the human side of the people living in an inherently beautiful region torn apart by political agendas; mixed messages; and media hype. Wakhlu’s ode through Kahwa Speaks serves as a reminder that there is more to Kashmir than what meets the eyes and ears.
Cups of nun chai exhibition in Australia in November
Contemporary Australian artist Alana Hunt will present her deeply moving, eight-year participatory memorial- Cups of on November 04 Centre for Stories, Western Australia.
Cups of nun chai is an award-winning participatory memorial and media intervention produced by artist Alana Hunt from 2010-2017. “It is a search for meaning in the face of something so brutal it appears absurd, and an absurd gesture when meaning itself becomes too much to bear. Cups of nun chai emerged from the summer of 2010 in Kashmir when over 118 people died in protests against the Indian state,” the exhibition bio reads.
Between 2010-2012 Alana shared 118 cups of nun chai, a Kashmiri salt tea, with 118 people in Australia and South Asia, as a means of memorialising this loss of life. She wrote from memory about each conversation and photographed each cup of tea.
“Through personal conversation and public media intervention Cups of nun chai explores some of the most challenging areas of contemporary life including the failures of democracy, state violence, armed struggle, the inherent fragility of the nation state, and the power of the media,” the bio reads.
Cups of nun chai won the 2017 Incinerator Art Award and was nominated for an Infinity Award with with International Centre for Photography in New York. The work has been presented at the Makassar International Writers’ Festival, Project Anywhere, National Works on Paper Art Award and Darwin Fringe Festival. In November 2018 Cups of nun chai will be presented at Centre for Stories in Perth, followed by an exhibition at Tufts University Art Gallery Massachusetts, and a series of artists presentations at Tufts, Brown, Indian and Parsons universities in the US.
Kashmir features in Siddhartha Gigoo’s next novel
Author Siddhartha Gigoo’s latest novel Mehr:A love Story, weaves around a cross-border love story, elements of territorial obsession, patriotism and religion.
The book narrates a fascinating love story of a Pakistani woman and a Kashmiri man and how their blooming love gets caught in the paranoid security establishment.
The book description on Amazon reads as, “Mehr, a Shia woman from Pakistan, falls in love with Firdaus, a youngster from Kashmir. Sundered by an unforgiving border, Mehr writes to her beloved, begging him to meet her. Firdaus relents, not knowing that the two of them are consumed by something far more dangerous than love and passion. They have caught the eye of Indian Intelligence and stirred the suspicion of one particularly tenacious officer. A deadly pursuit ensues. The lines between betrayal and revenge, deception and loyalty, love and madness, dream and reality stand blurred.”
In Mehr, award-winning author Siddhartha Gigoo plumbs the depths of obsession in its many forms: love, patriotism, religion. Equal parts tragic and heroic, the novel explodes the boundaries between people and countries, finding peace amid the chaos of war and love in the shards of desolation.
Street plays, musical programme organised by Ramzana Youth Folk Theatre
Under the patronage of Jammu Kashmir Academy of Art Culture and Languages, Ramzana Youth Folk Theatre Ichgam, Budgam last week organised a street plays, musical and informative programme at Budgam.
The programme were organised at Middle School Ompora, Budgam and Green field School, Khuroo Budgam. The programmes were attended by a large number of students, teachers and other art lovers from the locality. The Theatre group on the occasion entertained the audience with their performances. The students loved the play which was loaded with a social message. The organised said that the street plays and other informative programmes is a powerful educational tool that lets students understand the underlying message in a fun way. The school principals and other senior citizens lauded the efforts of the Theatre group for organising the programme.