Dervishes of Turkey exhibition opens today

LAHORE
The Zulfi’s Art Gallery is brining into life the whirling Dervishes of Turkey in a splendid exhibition of brilliant works of art, a series on the Whirling Dervish by Shafique Farooqi entitled The Rhythm of Life and his recent book on Tuesday (today) at 5.30 pm, I Johar Town.
Maulana Rumi, the 13th Century Sufi, was well known for his mystic poetry. Rumi believed in the concept of Tawheed (the oneness of God). He adopted the paths of music, poetry, and dance for preaching Tawheed.
Invoking Rumi, Shafique Farooqi’s Whirling Dervishes transports the viewers to a spiritual realm in an ecstasy of colours. His images swirl and melt into the heavens above joining mind, heart, and body as they seek oneness with God. Having spent a significant part of his life in Turkey, Farooqi’s art has been deeply inspired by Sufism.
The Society of The Whirling Dervishes was founded by Maulana Rumi’s followers in Turkey.
Their ceremony represents a spiritual journey; an ascent towards divine perfection. The whirling ritual characterises the ecstatic rise of the Sufi soul to a world beyond senses with divine insight. In no other known ritual are the three elements, the mind, the heart, and the body joined as one, both in theory and in practice.
After having received his Master’s in Fine Arts from Turkey Farooqi’s distinguished career has spanned over fifty prolific years.
Farooqi has extensively exhibited at home and abroad, notably in the United States, England, Holland, Germany, France, Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. His recent endeavour is his book on art and mysticism The Tale of Drunken Flute in Whirling Dervishes.