|
 We often forget the power of culture as it is such an integral part of existence. This phenomenon that assimilates a people's food and costume particularities as well as music, literature, folklore, dance, crafts and visual expression is a complex experience which shapes the sense of identity.
Culture is not stagnant as its time honored values are constantly influenced by popular ideas and practices of the time. It would be erroneous to think of culture as something homogenous as if practiced by people who live in diverse social environments. This is why cultural stereotypes cannot represent the complete portrait of a people.
Culture can be layered and complex as it is located at the intersection of past and present, established conventions and social change. It is also a site of political control and confrontation which is most obvious during dictatorial regimes. The tension between popular culture and state policies often causes ruptures that lead to polarization within a society.
Pakistan which has experienced considerable political and social upheaval is often perceived as a stagnant orthodoxy when viewed from the prism of the State's cultural policies but popular narratives projects pluralism, tolerance, social and political dynamism which has confronted extremist agendas at different tiers of society.
During authoritarian rule visual arts, theatre and literature began to explore subversive strategies to project social and political concerns. The Zia Era of the 1980s that introduced discriminatory laws pushed by an agenda of religious extremism was a turning point in the country's history to which writers, poets and artists responded by generating a consciousness of human and gender rights.
The new threshold of activism established in the 1980s led to a direct confrontation between progressive culture and defenders of orthodox norms. When dance was banned by the Zia Regime, leading dancers of the country defied it, Naheed Siddiqi chose to go into exile rather than succumb to the directive. Sheema Kermani courageously ran her dance school in Karachi and expanded her work to activist theatre. She co-founded Threek-e-Niswan, for the struggle of gender rights. Recently, when this organization held a festival the audience joined in to acknowledge its contribution. Ajoka Theatre, the brainchild of Madeeha Gauhar draws its strength from grassroots issues and an informal production format that emulates street theatre. This parallel theatre company employs a vast repertoire from Sufic writing of Bulleh Shah to humor- filled contemporary dance and musical interpretations of socially relevant themes.
The tenor of social and political change is visible in the contemporary art of Pakistan. Here the political and the personal intermingle to form a critical narrative. Imran Qureshi critiques the nuclear ambitions in a country where widespread poverty needs to be prioritized. Rashid Rashid compels people to look at the duality within its public debates to help determine its future direction. The claustrophobia of unassailable security barriers that reinforce social and political barriers in the urban space is the provocative subject of Bani Abedi's recent art. The feminist debate on empowerment and anti- discrimination is an on- going concern of many artists since 80s.
The epistemological matrix of a people evolves from the wisdom contained in its tangible and intangible culture. For a country like Pakistan, an ancient land with a young national history, where the people live in several centuries simultaneously, to recognize and understand its cultural signature one must accept the relevance of both its timeless philosophies embedded in its folklore as well as creative innovations articulated in the contemporary idiom. What gives this diversity coherence is a collective desire for harmony and human dignity? 
The writer is the Founder Editor of NuktaArt, a published author, columnist, curator and art activist.
|
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form
