Lahore hosts maiden flute festival

Exhibition, seminar, performances organised by Arts Council

LAHORE:

A flute festival was organised for the first time in Lahore to highlight the importance of the musical instrument in the country.

An exhibition of flutes used in famous songs was viewed by visitors with great interest during the festival inaugurated by Lahore Arts Council Board of Governors Chairman Qasim Ali Shah.

Tribute was paid to the great flute artistes of the country during the event. A seminar was also organised along with musical performances.

Flute artiste Akmal Qadri shed light on the various stages of the history of the instruments, its shape and development. Mohammad Ahsan Pappu and Ustad Hanif also spoke in the seminar.

A large number of people, including teachers and students of Alhamra Academy of Performing Arts, participated in the programme.

Another highlight of the past week was a comedy show organised for nomadic children at the Punjabi Complex.

Senior actor Hamid Rana, Amrozia, Jarrar Rizvi, Haider Raj Multani, Agha Qaiser Abbas and other famous personalities related to arts and culture took part in the event.

Comedy performances of Ghaffar Lehri, Allah Rakha and Sohail Patta were highly appreciated. Gifts were also distributed among the children during the show.

Another attraction for children was the production of their favourite drama Aynak Wala Jin by the arts council.

Under the direction of Alhamra Arts Centre Executive Director Muhammad Saleem Sagar, the drama paid homage to military heroes and martyrs. Skits presented on the occasion were liked by the large number of people present in the hall. The chief guest was well-known writer Attaul Haq Qasmi who congratulated Hasib Pasha and his team on the success of the play.

A ceremony in honour of senior film actor Nisho Begum featured Rubab Almas and other artists performed on popular songs from her films. Maham Rehman, Hamza Pasha and other singers also sang film songs, while actor Durdana Rehman, director Parvez Kaleem and Jarrar Rizvi also participated in the ceremony.

Actor Sana Butt's meeting with Indian artist Rakhi Sawant in Dubai also attracted public attention as the latter raised the slogan of 'I love Pakistan'.

Meanwhile, an artist support fund committee approved financial assistance for several performers on the recommendation of arts councils.

During the meeting, Caretaker Minister Amir Mir called for making the scrutiny committee more active and transparent. He said action would be taken against those who had shown negligence in the previous scrutinies.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2023.