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Mian Ijaz ul Hassan’s paintings, one is tempted to stretch out a hand and pluck the blossoms from a tree, so convincing is his view of nature and descriptive his aesthetic expression. Yet there is much more to the distinguished artist whose work covers a gamut of emotions. A collection of paintings exhibited at the […]

Up on Mount Olympus, the abode of the gods, there were no such trials. They had everything going for them, wining and dining endlessly and dancing to the lusty rhythms of Dionysus People take the common mint for granted. Yet apart from its piquancy, it has a whole history and mythology behind it. Some bolt

Once when I insisted that a ‘begum sahiba’ inform me what it actually was that Bhutto had done wrong, she thought I was being stupid but deigned to comply with a clouded brow: “Don’t you know? He spoiled the servants.” Of course, we have people artfully armed with more sophisticated answers touching on matters of

Anarkali fell for a vagabond Mughal prince and was enclosed alive in a brick wall. How awful! But I have often wondered why the father couldn’t keep his son in place instead of picking on a harmless little girl Writing is so much easier, at least much more comfortable than painting. Micheal Angelo would lie

No one can cease to be amazed looking at Amaltas in bloom. How can it be in such ease, bear burning heat in peace? It is equally amazing to discover uncommon virtues in wretched, uncommon things, be it men or common trees May is the season of Amaltas, which remain in bloom till end of

Try embroidering a simple flower. If you can’t get the thread through the needle, try painting. If for some reason you would rather not, try whistling a tune thinking of the blossom you love best. If you can’t even do that, then every other day try banging your head on the floor. According to Confucius

Let us not be deceived. Some people do find great fascination in wielding power and ruthlessly exercising it. For them it is better than being bogged down with abstractions like love and law. There is only a marginal difference between a despot and a rapist. One forces himself on a woman, the other on an

Feeling ignored, the officer in charge could contain himself no more and loudly informed me, without budging from his seat, that I could not photograph the mural. I had not even touched the camera but I confronted him by asking, “Why not?” “There have been several thefts in the past. Photography has been prohibited,” was

Some art critics are of the view that if, to use a neutral word, the donor elephant was invited to defecate in person at the Tate, the audience could have experienced both the form and size of the artwork as well as the music, which went unrecorded The National Exhibition was inaugurated in May this

 If India continues to have ‘larger concerns’ in the region than peace with its neighbours and needs to have IBMs that can target the United States — instead of CBMs — and Pakistan perceives itself as a national security state, then the people of the two countries and their hopes for peace and friendship can