“baree zurkhaiz hai yeh mittee”..
“”My work is the externalisation of my inner journey. Through it I communicate with the pulse of life. The Calligraphic form and movement that emerges is not predetermined or cerebral, it is intuitive and articulates something deep inside me”
It is important that no thought of how people will react to my work intrudes, as that would destroy the thread and take the truth away.
The land that has created geniuses like Sadqauin, Latif Bhttai, Iqbal, Malka Pukhraj, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ahmed Faraz, Bullay Shah, Noor Jehan, Mehdi Hasan…the list is long is proud of her sons and daughters. The Pakistanis are determined to keep the spirit of our heroes alive.
I am enchanted by Islamic calligraphy and feel close to the Sufi mystics. At the mystic level barriers melt away and religious experience whether Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim becomes one. One could call it human experience of the ineffable.
Guljee was one of those lucky artists who did not wallow in penury. Pakistan and Pakistanis invested in Guljee. Partha Mitter calls it ”lavish state support.” Guljee was worth every spenny spent on him in gold. I nthe grand tradition Guljee has created hundreds of other artists (http://ghulkinstudents.multiply.com/journal/item/93).
“For me the medium of the unknown is space and the calligraphic choreography of my painting is the dance of the dervish. To me the act of painting is the making real of the essential and Yogic experience of life as pure movement. I find it difficult to speak about my paintings because the act of putting together words only explains and cannot make real the experience, which for me, is the only reality, the only value that gives meaning to my life.
Therefore I will end this by adding that I live only when I paint. The rest is but a wait, a preparation mixed with prayer for crossing the threshold-form life into the experience of life.”
We at Rupee News are proud of Pakistniat for keeping the spirit of Guljee alive on the net. Also click here for a lot more on Guljee: http://www.gulgee.org/index.htm
One of our favorite paintings by Guljee is the portrait of Jinnah in which Guljee captures the steel fortitude and concrete grit and nationalisitc pride in the visionary eyes of the father of the Muslim nation.
We look forward to an online museum of Guljee paintings and sculpture.
The soil of Pakistan has created many geniuses. Guljee was one of the best on this planet. He was appreciated in Pakistan, awarded and rewarded by not only the people of Pakistan, but by the entire world. His work is a living testament to our times and the dignity of a proud nation.
Those who harp on the decline of Pakistan need to look at the flowers that have blossomed on the shores of the Indus. Abdul Mohammad Ismail, popularly known as Gulgee was and will always remain an asset for Pakistan forever. While we are all saddened at the senseless death of this great Pakistan, we should pause for a moment, at this juncture celebrate his life and his works.
Guljee is succeeded by his genius son, Amin Gulgee who is also a sculpturer.
We expect that Amin will keep the spirit alive. Have lots of children Amin!
For more information on Persian calighraphy, see:
http://www.caroun.com/Calligraphy/IranianContemporaryCalligraphers.htm
Two held in Gulgee murder probe By Imran Ayub
KARACHI, Feb 16: Police on Saturday claimed to have solved a mystery behind the murder of artist Gulgee, his wife Zareen Gulgee and a maidservant with the arrest of two suspects. Among the suspects is the artist’s driver.
A senior police official, however, said that robbery was not the “only motive” behind the triple murder. The bodies of the three were found inside the Clifton residence of Abdul Mohammad Ismail, popularly known as Gulgee, on Dec 19.
“Driver Akram played the main role in the whole episode. He was assisted by his friend Anwar who specially came from Lahore,” IG Sindh Azhar Ali Farooqi told a press conference.
“The arrest came after a consistent surveillance of all suspects and intelligence agencies assisted the police’s anti-violent crime unit headed by DIG Investigations Manzoor Ahmed Mughal in the investigation,” he added.
The IG denied the involvement of artist’s son, Amin Gulgee, in the crime and said: “There is no significance in speculations that Amin Gulgee was a suspect in the incident.”
He said the driver, who belonged to Punjab, was hired by the family in the first week of December, but he was not satisfied with his salary.
“He shared this concern with maidservant Aasia, who encouraged him to a break-in and theft of a box of the artist filled with cash,” he said.
“To execute his plans Akram invited Anwar from Lahore and tried to get his accomplice employed as a cook. However, Gulgee’s wife rejected him.”On the night of Dec 18, Akram managed to bring Anwar inside the home and waited for Gulgee, who was out for some personal visit. When Gulgee came home, Akram put a cloth on his face while Anwar hit the artist’s head with an axe. This proved fatal. They also killed Zareen in a similar manner.
“Since they found the cash short of their expectations, they waited whole night in the bungalow and the next morning when the maidservant came they inquired from her about more cash. When she showed ignorance, they caught hold of her and killed her,” he added.
