Quaid’s pictures on display at Heritage Museum. PHOTO: MYRA IQBAL, INP
Malaika quietly peered at a life-sized portrait of Jinnah. “I find the pictures to be very informative, especially since I only moved here from the US two years ago. The little details in the captions are a form of storytelling. I’ve learnt quite a bit about our history and civilisation through this display,” she said.
The ninth grader from Beaconhouse School was attending a photo exhibition to commemorate the death anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah at the Heritage Museum as part of a class trip on Wednesday.
Her classmate, Haya, voiced mild aggression. “Everyone knows its 9/11, but no one is talking about the death anniversary of Jinnah. There should be a moment of silence for him and perhaps more talk on what he meant to us as a nation,” she said.
Families, students and teachers crowded the dimly-lit gallery, taking in the aura of the nation’s father through black-and-white archived portraits of him.
The exhibition documents Jinnah’s role through major social and political events and also reveals a well-rounded person, instead of the stolid political figure that textbooks often paint him to be.
His penchant for billiards is evident with a photograph of him focusing on a shot, with a cigar perched between his lips and his silver-streaked hair pulled back in a slick mane.
In another, he is enjoying a folk music performance at Pishin, surrounded by locals. Reading a document through a monocle, his brows are furrowed in concentration in a moment captured behind the lens, listening intently to a refugee at a camp air out his woes in Karachi, announcing the plan for the creation of the country at All India Radio in Delhi are some other examples.
The pictures also explore Jinnah’s love for his family — his inseparable bond with sister Fatimah, laughing, talking or just standing next to each other. Jinnah standing with Fatima and his daughter Dina, smiling.
There is also a portrait of his wife Rattan Bai. Other prominent personalities featured in the exhibition include Allama Iqbal, Sir Ahmed Khan, Qazi Muhammad Isa, Howard Cripps and Nawab Muhammad Khan Jogezai. At the entrance to the museum, a book stall displayed albums, quote books and official documents.
A projection screen ran monochromatic montages of Jinnah along with croaky, inaudible audio clips. Though the photographs served to provide snippets of history, poor lighting and tiny captioning kept the audience from appreciating the full view.
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid, who was chief guest at the exhibition, paid tribute to Jinnah. He said the democratic government was working to ensure prosperity in the country. He added that efforts were underfoot for the rehabilitation of Quaid’s residency in Ziarat. The exhibition will continue till September 13.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 12th, 2013.
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