Footprints: Space for art

THE traffic was normal on Quetta’s otherwise overcrowded and narrow Spinny Road at sunset, as I entered the recently established ‘Artist Cafe’ housed at the Noori Naseer Khan Cultural Complex. At the entrance, a signboard of ‘Artist Cafe’ directed me toward the two small separate gardens, with a green wooden structure in front. That was the tiny cafe, where about a dozen people were sitting in four groups. Inside the cafe, I encounter Syed Munawar Shah, dressed in a shalwar kameez, making tea for his customers. An artist himself, Shah asks me to give him a few minutes while he serves his customers. Later, he pulls up two chairs near the entrance and speaks to me about the cafe and his journey as an artist. Born and raised in Mach before moving to Quetta, Shah says his forte is marble art. He has fond memories of the picturesque Mach Valley, which he describes as a source of inspiration for his art. A small outdoor cafe in Quetta provides artists a space to interact and express their creativity Shah is particularly proud of his family and their contributions to his art journey. “My wife helps me choose colours for my marble art,” he says while taking pride in the “artistic environment at home”. This is one of the reasons he is at the forefront of running the artist cafe — with an aim to bring artists together in a city that does not otherwise cater to creative souls. “We have established the cafe so that artists can gather in one place and be at ease,” he tells me while looking at a mixed crowd of artists busy chatting in the gardens. The return of theatre Agha Mohammad Kurd is a local director and actor. On the day I visited the cafe, I found him along with his writer-cum-artist friend Mohammad Zafar engaged in an animated discussion. As I approached their table, they welcomed my intrusion and invited me to join them, and motioned the server, who placed a cup of freshly brewed tea before me. Like the rest of the crowd, they a...

Original source: Dawn Pakistan