Daily Times

Islamabad: Jamal Shah wears several hats. He is an actor, film maker, singer, painter, sculptor, teacher and now an efficient administrator running the Pakistan National Council of Arts as its Director General for the last one year. To say the least, he personifies performing arts. But how does he manage so many things at one time was something on my mind before I sat down with him for an interview. “PNCA is a big institution and running it requires a lot of time and energy, and I am sure it would have affected your artistic life,” I asked Jamal Shah. “It has not affected my artistic life, I have been keeping a fine balance between my job as DG PNCA and my artistic life,” he said in his signature gentle tone. He, however, admitted that he could not spare time for his own art institute, Hunerkada, which is being run in his absence by his wife who herself is an accomplished sculptor.

Jamal Shah’s life humanizes the famous saying, “When you really want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” Mr. Shah was born in Quetta though his family comes from Pishin, a small town in Baluchistan. He spent his childhood and youth in Quetta because his father, Yaar Muhammed Shah, a Police officer, was posted there. “My father was an educated person but it was my mother, who never went to school, encouraged and motivated me to become an artist. She was an enlightened lady in every sense of the word,” Shah Sahib, as he is respectfully addressed, reminisced about his childhood.

Walking down memory lane, Jamal Shah said, “When I completed my school, my teacher discovered the artist in me and advised that I should get admission in the National College of Arts (NCA), a name I had not heard of before, but when I sought permission from my father, he straight away refused and told me to become a doctor.”

‘It’s a shame that no government in Pakistan considered art important enough to allocate resources for its promotion; that’s the very reason there does not exist even the basic infrastructure of fine art in Pakistan’

“I completed my intermediate with good grades which could get me a seat at Bolan Medical College but I lied to my family that my grades were not good enough to get me an admission in it. As luck would have it, my father never checked whether I was telling the truth or not,” Shah Sahib said with a mischievous laughter.

“I had secretly started learning music from Ustad Arbab Khan Khosa who my father would frequently invite to perform at our Hujra. When I went to Arbab sahib to learn music, his first question was ‘Has Agha Ji (his father) granted you permission?’ My answer was ‘No’ to which he angrily asked how he could teach me without my father’s permission,” Jamal Shah said. But somehow, my friends and I managed to convince him to teach us music and after six months Ustad Ji informed us that Pakistan Television (PTV) had opened its center in Baluchistan. “I, along with my friends, went for the audition, and were all approved; we were asked to develop a music program – vocal and composition both. It was too much for a young budding singer who had barely a six months training under his belt, but since we were very passionate about music, we did produce a program which earned us appreciation from the viewers,” Mr. Shah added.

The night our program was supposed to be aired, I stayed over at my friend’s place. My father was very angry, as expected, and the next day when I went home, he asked me, “Don’t you feel ashamed? The son of Yar Muhammad Shah will become a singer now?” “But Baba your love for music inspired my passion for it?” I said respectfully. “Listening to music is fine but singing is not,” he declared. Jamal Shah told me how complex Pashtun elders generally are, with a smile on his face.

“Things gradually started getting better and my father would discuss music with me: which singer was good and which wasn’t? But even so, I was never allowed to do Riyaz (music practice) at home. In Bhutto sahib’s time, when I did my Master’s in English literature, special seats of Deputy Superintendent of Police were announced for Baluchistan. I wanted to join duty, and one phone call from my father as a police officer could get me the job. But he flatly refused.”

“Why do you want to join the police service? Do you want bribes? If not, then there is no charm in joining it. I hate every single day of my service as a police officer,” said my father Shah Sahib said.

After rejecting my request to join the police service, however, one good day to my pleasant surprise, my father told me that it was better I get an admission in NCA. I consider that day as the most momentous day in my life. When I completed my four year long program at NCA, I joined Baluchistan University as a lecturer and set up a fine arts academy but had to leave it shortly after I won the British Council scholarship to study art at Slade School of Art in United Kingdom. “I am the first-ever Pakistani whose art work was exhibited at Slade’s Victorian Albert Museum,” said a proud Shah Sahib.

“What brought you to PNCA?” I asked him. “To tell you the truth, I never wanted to come here,” he said. “I wanted to run Pakistan Television (PTV) so when the position of Managing Director was announced, I applied, believing that I had the required credentials. Three interviews were conducted, and in the end a person who had not only failed the interview but was a defaulter of PTV was appointed as MD. It broke my heart how a person like Pervaiz Rasheed could not only abuse merit but put his credibility at stake by appointing such a person.” Pervaiz Rasheed later approached me to join PNCA, which I refused, but he kept on insisting, and some well-wishers also intervened, which left me with no option other than joining it,” he added.

Talking about the sea of challenges as DG PNCA, Shah Sahib said that to tackle them he needs resources which are lacking. “It’s a shame that no government in Pakistan considered art important enough to allocate resources for its promotion; that’s the very reason there does not exist even the basic infrastructure of fine art in Pakistan,” according to Shah Sahib. “Since my taking charge, I have been working on restructuring PNCA by involving not just our parent ministry but the corporate sector too. My mission is to document, preserve and develop the art and culture of Pakistan and make it accessible to people, but again we need funds for that,” he added, sounding a bit frustrated.

“As with other government organizations, PNCA too was handed over to irrelevant people who had no concern with fine arts. I am making sure to bring young, qualified people here and train them so they are well-equipped for future challenges.”

“Never in PNCA’s history has it had such a busy calendar of events like art exhibitions, music concerts, music festivals, film festivals and theater. Now these events not only promote art and entertain people but also act as income generation projects.” Jamal Shah said with a sense of determination.

About projects that are in the pipeline and which Shah Sahib is determined to complete, are the National Centre for Performing Arts, National Film Academy and National Music Academy. “All these projects look beautiful on paper but what’s the timeframe for the completion?” I asked Shah Sahib. “The construction of the National Centre for Performing Arts will start by mid of next year and if things go according to plan, it will be completed by 2020. Also, the National Music Academy will be linked with NCPA.”

Shah Sahib sounded ecstatic about the success of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Cultural Caravan which brought together Chinese and Pakistani artists from diverse backgrounds. “My vision is to deepen relationships between Pakistan and China. Before, we were geographically connected, and now because of the Cultural Caravan we are culturally connected too. I believe such caravans should take place at least once a year if not more frequently,” he added. The Cultural Caravan is a joint project of Pakistan and China to promote dialogue, cultural exchanges and understanding of the cultural heritage of both the countries. More than two dozen artists from Pakistan and China travelled from Hunza valley to Gwadar, passing through different cities and performing at 16 different places along the historical Silk Road. The Cultural Caravan started its journey in Hunza valley on the November 4th and concluded on November 21,
2017 in Gwadar.

Another project which, in fact, is Jamal Shah’s brainchild and which he is proud of, is ‘Situation 101’. It was launched on October 28 in Karachi and continued till November 15, 2017. The project showcased sculpture installations involving 101 human figures presented in a dehumanized form. “It sounds like quite a unique idea, so what message did you want to send across?” I asked Jamal Shah. “Well, I wanted to communicate several messages by these installations. First and foremost, was to discuss the essence of art, whether art is a necessity or a luxury, and if it’s a necessity then it should come out of museums and galleries and address itself to the general public.” Shah Sahib said.

“Art gradually informs these dehumanized figures and transforms them into aware human beings who then start raising a voice for their rights and challenge people at the helm of affairs.”

‘Only art has the ability to engage people intimately with their surroundings. It helps human beings evolve into productive individuals who are duly trained and sensitised to modern ideas of diversity and democratic principles which provide for the foundation of a tolerant society, a society that encourages positive dialogue’

The installation comprised of sculptures with a strong element of performance which included dance, music, live painting, poetry and dialogue. The final presentation of ‘Situation 101’ is going to be projected on December 19 at PNCA with the launch of the National Exhibition celebrating 70 years of Independence of Pakistan.

“We have seen that many strategies were developed to counter radicalization in society but failed to yield results. Can art play a role in countering extremism in Pakistan?” I asked. “Absolutely, as only art has the ability to engage people intimately with their surroundings. It helps human beings evolve into productive individuals who are duly trained and sensitised to modern ideas of diversity and democratic principles which provides for the foundation of a tolerant society, a society that encourages positive dialogue,” Shah Sahib replied. “You know artists are the agent of change; a change that is not driven by fear or insecurity but love, warmth and care for each other irrespective of the color of our skin or belief system,” he added. “The counter-terrorism strategies developed so far by Pakistani governments are reactive in nature. What we need to do is immunise the youth by engaging them in artistic and cultural activities. Once they are productively engaged with a sense of belonging, they won’t be easily influenced by extremist forces.”

Jamal Shah said the tragedy is that successive governments have refused to invest in art deeming it unnecessary for societal growth. We need to realize that a person not connected with his culture and art will be a confused person and can easily fall prey to the agents of destruction. “Artists contribute to beautifying the environment by making people informed in a subtle way. It’s the art that has the capacity to do away with barriers and bring people together while celebrating their diverse cultural background. An informed cultured individual will never indulge in terrorist activities but rather opt for dialogue while appreciating difference of opinion.” Jamal Shah said.

“Why has art been on the decline and what brought us to this situation?” This was my next question to Shah Sahib.” All those who led this country were not genuine people. Their decisions were driven by their personal interests as well as their insecurities. They had no sense of belonging to this land so every decision they made were meant to secure their personal interests rather than the interest of Pakistan,” he added. “Our rulers have exploited religion for their vested interests which has been the root cause of all our troubles and the very recent was the Pindi Dharna which showed total surrender of the State to a crowd of not more than 2000,” Shah Sahib said.

“How do you see the future of fine arts in Pakistan, and generally speaking are you hopeful about the future of Pakistan?” I asked him. “Yes, as an artist I am sanguine about the future of fine art as well as the future of our country but it does not mean we travel in the same direction. We need to admit that we have lost time and opportunities to make life better for our people but even today if we appoint right people at the right places, we can certainly make things better. No society can evolve by not appreciating merit, and for that we need to train our people and inculcate in them the importance of merit. To begin with, we must have a National Culture Policy, the purpose of which should be to situate individuals and give them a sense of identity and belonging. We need to instill in individuals that things won’t get better unless they own this country as they own their families and homes.” Shah Sahib said emphatically.

“The second step that we should take is to develop a National Curriculum based on the Culture policy. The aim of the National Curriculum is to give a national identity to individuals while appreciating and valuing their sub-national identity. When we give them identity, it’s like granting them a strong foundation so they feel connected with the society and own it,” Jamal Shah said. Last but not least, we need to educate our people. By education I don’t mean the present kind that we impart to our children, it’s more like indoctrination. An education that does not enable students to critically analyse everything is no education at all. In addition to that our education shall have the capacity to broaden our children’s perspectives to make them citizens of the world celebrating cultural and religious diversity. This National Curriculum should equip students to have clear concepts about the fundamental questions of life and encourage them to exercise their free will,” Shah Sahib added. “We wear several masks – of politics, of religion and so forth. We should not let our children wear masks rather encourage them to smash them and evolve into authentic individuals,” said Director General PNCA, Jamal Shah.

Published in Daily Times, December 16^th 2017.