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Thursday March 28, 2024

Students from twin cities participate in painting contest on life of Quaid-i-Azam

By our correspondents
December 27, 2015

Islamabad

Twenty five students from different schools and colleges of Islamabad and Rawalpindi participated in a painting contest themed ‘Quaid-i-Azam: The Great Leader’ organised to celebrate Quaid-i-Azam Day.

The contest held at Pakistan Monument Museum, adjacent to National Monument, was part of the activities organised by the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) to celebrated Quaid-i-Azam Day and Christmas.

The special programmes regarding Quaid-i-Azam Day also included cake cutting ceremony. The paintings by young talent from twin cities depicted various stages of the life and struggle of the founder of Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The students who participated in the contest included Ambreen Fatima, Amna Gul,  Aqsa Arif, Areeqa Batool, Arooj Arif, Haseeba Amjad, Iqra Jabeen, Jawaria Jamil, Qurat ul Ain, Sadaf Zehra, Samman Kazmi, Samina Bibi, Shagufta Ali, Shanza, Sadia Anwer Ali, Sehrish, Fatima, Wajeeha Jameel, Zahra Ali, Muhammad Ethesham, M. Abu Bakar, Ali Faizan, Arbab, Jawad Hussain, Ryan Tahir and Ali Rehan. 

Special programmes marking Christmas Day were held at the Pakistan National Museum of Ethnology (Heritage Museum). The activities featured Christmas cake cutting ceremony, erection of Christmas tree, distribution of sweets and gifts by Santa Claus, live folk musical performances and cultural diversity shows. The Christmas activities were arranged by Lok Virsa in collaboration with Temple of Lord Church, New Shakrial. Lok Virsa Executive Director Dr Fouzia Saeed was the chief guest on the occasion.

In her address, Dr. Fouzia Saeed shed light on the importance of celebrating Quaid-i-Azam Day and Christmas through a cultural perspective. She paid rich tributes to the founder of Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah for his untiring efforts and contribution in creating a separate homeland for the Muslims of sub-continent. She also congratulated Christian community on their auspicious occasion.

"Christmas is a time for celebration and rejoicing. It is also a time to reflect on the message of Jesus Christ, the eternal message of love, peace and forgiveness," she said. 

The special performances rendered by Christian youth were a national song "Hum sab aik hain", Christmas welcome song and a cultural diversity show "Rhythm of Unity".

A large number of people from all walks of life including Christian community attended the ceremony and enjoyed the thrilling performances and presentations rendered by the artists and musicians.

The two museums working under the administrative control of Lok Virsa, i.e. Heritage Museum and Pakistan Monument Museum also remained open throughout the day and entertained thousands of visitors. In order to ensure maximum participation of the masses, fifty percent rebate on entry ticket of Heritage Museum for Pakistani nationals was also granted by Lok Virsa.

In her informal interaction with media, Dr. Fouzia Saeed informed that Lok Virsa will hold its next program on "Block Printing: Engagement with Artisans" under craft of the month series from January 4 till 10, 2016. Master artisans in the field of block printing, Ajrak and vegetable dyes from different parts of the country will demonstrate their skills at Heritage Museum and coach children (6-14 years) regarding their respective crafts.