Faryal Gohar Reading And Art Show At Majmua The Art Gallery

Majmua Recently Hosted In Karachi An Art Exhibition By Ali Shah, Ashkal And Maqbool Of Abstract And Figurative Paintings. The Title Was Seeking Harmony. The Show Showed In Different Hues And Compositions Women Showing Their Affinity To Life, Nature And Music. The Art Shows Aim Was To Promote And Encourage Emerging Artists So That They Evolve And Create A Mark In The Art World.

The Program Started At 6 Pm . The Reading Of Faryal Gohar Was The Jewel In The Crown For The Karachiies. After Almost Two Decades She Had Emerged Like A Phoenix Oit Of The Ashes. Though Extremely Busy In Her Career Workig In Almost 40 Films And Various Volantary Assignments With Underprivaleged Children , And Most Recently Working With The Diamer Basha Dam And The Daasu Hydro Power As A Consultant Of Cultural Heritage She Is Working For The Engineering Firm, Shows Her Versitality And Intellectual Acumen As A Woman Of Many Parts.. Her Two Most Recently Published Books That She Had Published In 2002 By Penguin Entitled : The Scent Of Wet Earth And No More Place For Burial Later Are Indepth And Profound And Discuss Various Issues In War- Torn Afghanistan Etc.

I Found Faryal Though Shy And Modest Of Her Stature As A Personality And A Wonderful Human Being Also Very Motivated In Her Work. She Seems To Love Writing And Making Films And Has Great Passion For Theatre.

She Read From Both The Books, Their Various Passages And In Different Accents And Expression. The Accents Were From Afghani To Very Polite Urdu, And American. She Was Extremely Witty But Bold In Her Writings And Not Vulgar. Her Demeanour Was Very Graceful And Warm And Receptive To Her Audience.

The Readings Went On For At Least And Hour And A Half And The Q/A For Another Hour Where She Explained The Audience Her Passion For Picking Particular Subject And That She Seees It More As A Release And Becomes A Creative Film Or A Book. The Scent Of The Wet Earth Was Unique As It Was Mainly A Screen Play That Was When Requested By Penguin , Faryal Took Away The Film Directions From It. The Audience Seemed To Be Thorughly Enjoying The Reading And The Interactie Session Could Have Gone On. Faryal Did Not Leave The Gallery As She Met Various Artits And Scriptwriters Who Wanted To Meet Her. After A Group Photo And The Painting Presented By The Gallery , Hi Tea Was Served. A Number Of Artists Also Overwhelmed By Her Presented Her Two More Paintings. I Have To Admit My Admiration For Her As A Young Woman Myself In The 80S And 90S And Having Acted And Made Documentaries It Was Like Meeting A Soul Mate Or A Dejavu From The Past.

In My Career As A Gallery Owner I Found The Experience Extremely Enriching And Involving And Will Continue To Unveil Many Writers Young Or Old Along With Showcasing
Artworks And Promoting Performing Arts.

By : Mehreen Ilahi
Artist/ Writer/ Actress
Filmaker And Curator Ad Gallery Owner Of
Majmua The Art Gallery