5-day moot on cultural roots, architecture of Punjab underway

LAHORE: The 5-day international conference on “Cultural Roots of Art and Architecture of the Punjab” by the Trust for History Arts & Architecture, Pakistan (THAAP) and University of Gujrat, with the support of Higher Education Commission is underway at Gulberg III.  

Prof. Maliha Azami Aga of University of the Punjab chaired the fifth session on Saturday. While papers were presented by Prof. Aisha Asim Imdad on “The roots of decorative motifs of Cholistani crafts” and Ms Eesha Thaker and Neha Babi presented their papers on “Designing learning strategies through cultural studies” respectively.

The fifth session was chaired by Prof. Dr Rukhsana David, Principal of Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore. Dr Tariq Rehman and Abdullah Qureshi presented their papers on “How Punjab lost its Punjabi” and “The space of the Mughal miniature” respectively. Ar. Bazla Manzoor and Aqsa Yasin presented their paper on “Evolution of courtyards in Central Punjab-Pakistan”. It was followed by an active discussion session.
The sixth session was chaired by Prof. Dr Ali Akbar Husain, chair of Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi. Osama Ahmad, Dr Taimoor Khan Mumtaz and Dr Mamoona Khan presented their papers on “Punjab’s architectural transformations: Indo-Greek Classicism to British Colonial Neo-Classicism”, “The sacred roots of culture in the Punjab” and “Ashlars Masonry in Puthuhar and the British Raj” respectively. The seventh session was chaired by Prof. Dr Neelum Naz, Chairperson School of Architecture & Planning, UET, Lahore. Samra Mohsin Khan and Dr Kanwal Khalid presented their papers on the “Impact of cultural change on tangible and intangible heritage of the bazaars” and “The cultural roots of Lahore during the Ghaznavide period” respectively.
The delegation then moved to the University of the Punjab, Lahore, for their evening programme. Prof. Maliha Azami Aga, Principal, University College of Art and Design, received the delegation. Prof. D. Mujahid Kamran, Vice Chancellor of University of the Punjab inaugurated the cultural night. The night began with the faculty group show of artworks. A musical rendition on the sitar and tabla was then presented.

The inaugural session on Friday started with the welcome address by Prof. Sajida Haider Vandal, architect, educationist & THAAP, CEO followed by the encouraging remarks made by the guest of honor Prof. Irshad Burney with a candid yet inspirational address given by the Chief Guest and HEC Chairperson  Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gilani. 
Prof. Pervaiz Vandal, the conference convener, set the tone of the moot in his opening remarks saying, “Punjab has been the melting pot of people and ideas. The native culture was influenced, modified, developed as a continuous and linked phenomenon. The Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Sufis, Turks, Afghans, Kashmiris, Brahmins, Rajputs, merchants of Gujrat and Deccan, contributed to the social ethos of the Punjab.” He said a synthesis of the foreign and local traditions of cultures, started centuries ago has continued to influence, modify, and develop the indigenous society of the Punjab. Colonization by the British changed the continuum in a profound manner to leave us as we are today. The conference will focus on the cultural roots of art and architecture of the Punjab to generate a discourse and find an answer to the question, what are we then?” It was followed by three thought provocative paper reading sessions with the inauguration of an art exhibition at Gallery 39K on the same theme as that of the conference.
The conference pre
sented nine papers chaired by Prof. Irshad Burney, Prof. Dr Azhar Mahmood, Prof. Dr Gulzar Haider, and Rajmohan Gandhi. 
A report on the conference was presented & the delegation has been invited by the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, for the cultural night and dinner.
On Monday the Conference is scheduled at University of Gujrat which will include Gujrat and Wazirabad city visit.
On day 5, Tuesday, the conference is scheduled at Harappa Museum, Sahiwal, which will include a briefing on Harappa land issues, visit to archaeological site and Harappa Museum, and a cultural programme