Javid Namah mural a big feat: Jimmy

LAHORE
World renowned Pakistani artist, social crusader and peace activist Jimmy Engineer has reiterated that he regards mural on Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s collection of Persian poetry “Javid Namah” and series of huge Pakistan Movement paintings as his major artistic achievements.
In a statement issued from Houston on the eve of death anniversary of great poet and philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal being observed on Tuesday (today), Jimmy Engineer said he has been painting for more than four decades and has so far created hundreds of paintings all these years but he considered doing mural to transform “Javid Namah” in colours and series of huge Pakistan Movement paintings highlighting Muslims exodus to their new motherland as his major artistic achievements which had given him recognition and appreciation both nationally and internationally as an imaginative creative artist. He said incidentally both these artistic achievements were created while he was staying in Lahore.
He said he had started working to transform “Javid Namah” into a mural of 10 x 15 feet size on the wall of Dr Javid Iqbal’s bungalow on Main Boulevard, Gulberg, Lahore, in 1981 and completed it in about one year in 1982. He said throughout this period, he had stayed at the residence of Dr Javid Iqbal.
Jimmy Engineer while giving some more details in this regard said that Allama Muhammad Iqbal in one of his letters to his son Javid Iqbal had written that in the first instance, no artist will ever be able to transform “Javid Namah” in colours on the canvass or as a mural and if anyone at all accomplished this then he will attain international fame and reputation. He said a number of local and foreign artists had tried their hands during life time of Allama Iqbal and even afterwards but had failed to accomplish the challenging task. He pointedly stated that he had undertaken the task as a challenge and was able to complete it in one year with the blessings of Almighty Allah.
About images of mural on “Javid Namah” published in October 2012 in a book, Jimmy Engineer said well-known Indian writer and intellectual Mumtaz Currim had edited and published number of articles written by scholars from India and abroad and published these in a book form under the title of “Jannat: Paradise in Islamic Art” which was published by Marg Foundation. One of the articles included in the book was titled “Javid Namah: Iqbal’s Heavenly Journey” which was written by Syed Khalid Qadri. The said article carried images from the mural painted by him (Jimmy Engineer).
Jimmy said he regards this as a great honour for himself as well as for Pakistan that the images of mural of “Javid Namah” had been published in a book edited and compiled by well-known Indian writer and intellectual Mumtaz Currim.
As regards series of since famous Pakistan Movement paintings, he said that he had created this great art work out of sheer imagination and blessings of Almighty Allah though he himself was born in August 1954, seven years after Pakistan had come into existence. He said few years after he had turned professional artist, he suddenly started bad dreams of bloodshed and violence continuously.
He talked to a number of people including Sufi Barkat Ali of Risalewala, Faisalabad, who advised him to start transforming these dreams of bloodshed and violence in colours on huge canvasses.