n a humid, late-July afternoon in Lahore, a group of young artists, archaeologists, craftspeople, architects, engineers and conservation scientists gathered at the Lahore Fort to discuss the impact of culture on society. Renowned artist and educator, Professor Salima Hashmi led the conversation, referencing some of the defining moments in her life. The event was called Café Learning Session.

Lahore Fort is the place where Prof Hashmi’s father, the legendary Faiz Ahmad Faiz, was once incarcerated. It was during that time that he composed the iconic poem, Aaj Bazaar Main, a bold poetic expression of angst and defiance.

The session converted Lahore Fort’s Barood Khana (ammunition depot) into a visceral time capsule as Prof Hashmi narrated her lived experience of some critical junctures of Pakistan’s history. The venue overlooked a vast, lush-green garden, bathed in sparkling sunlight. The participants sat ensconced in its cave-like interior with mottled plaster covering the brick masonry of its ancient walls. They were taken on a nostalgic journey of political struggle, artistic expression and a mini socio-cultural revolution. The event was hosted by Aga Khan Cultural Service-Pakistan.

Prof Hashmi also recounted the formative years of her life, starting with her childhood in the 1940s and how her paternal grandfather, Sultan Muhammad Khan, who hailed from a small village in Sialkot, had tended livestock as a youth. Later, he had reached Lahore, where he came across an Afghan trader. The two became friends. Impressed with Khan’s intellect, the trader invited him to Kabul.

Sultan Muhammad Khan’s command over the English language helped him secure the coveted position of a clerk at the court of Abdur Rehman II. Soon, conspiracies started brewing in the court. Khan ot wind of a plot to have him killed. Fearing for his life, he fled the city. When the king heard the news, he immediately summoned his clerk to the court, but the latter had loftier ambitions. He wanted to study at the Cambridge University, England. This he did achieve, and eventually became an ambassador to Queen Victoria’s court in England.

Steering the conversation to her father, Prof Hashmi shared a treasured collection of old family photographs on a projector screen. She also regaled the participants with accounts of her memorable trips with Faiz. Recalling a train journey to Rome, she said that it had an itinerary that “was unheard of at the time.”

She and her family also had to endure hardships resulting from her father’s activism. All that was to ultimately shape the person she has become.

In 1951, Faiz was arrested and sentenced to jail on charges of plotting a coup against Liaqat Ali Khan’s government. “For a long time, we had no idea whether he was dead or alive,” Prof Hashmi said. “We received calls from officials telling us that my father was being tortured [in prison].”

Witnessing her father’s trajectory up close was a major learning experience for Prof Hashmi. In her own words, she “used to see people crying when they read my father’s poetry. This observation taught me the power of poetry over society; I discovered that poetry is an important part of our culture.”

Prof Hashmi also displayed some of her seminal artwork at the session. One of her art series from 1971 was recently exhibited in Doha, Qatar. Paradoxically titled Sohni Dharti (beautiful land), the show was a comment on the unfortunate civil war that had led to the Fall of Dhaka.

Another contentious period in the history of Pakistan is Zia-ul-Haq’s martial law which was marked by ‘Islamisation,’ the imposition of heavy media censorship and the stifling of artistic expression.

“People ask me if a revolution will ever happen. I tell them that improving the gender balance in various organisations and educational institutions is nothing short of a revolution.”

While freedom of expression was curtailed in Zia’s era, it was also the time when the civil society movement took root and groups such as the Women’s Action Forum, Ajoka Theatre and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan came up.

Political repression often inspires great art. Prof Hashmi said that in the1980s it was the “collective duty” of the nation to convert the darkness of oppressive dictatorship into creative expression. She recalled how after she learnt about kathak dancer Nahid Siddiqui being barred from performing in her own country, she decided to channel her angst into art. She created a piece of art as a tribute to Siddiqui. It highlighted the reality of women who were not ‘granted’ autonomy over their own bodies due to the institutionalisation of misogynistic dogmas that dictated how women were to conduct themselves.

A dress code was imposed for women in educational institutions. “Since women had no say in decisions that concerned their lives, I wondered who was in charge of their bodies,” she added. “The state had the power to decide how women’s bodies were to be covered. I wanted to challenge that injustice through art.”

Prof Hashmi rejected the notion that art is meant for just a select few - intellectuals and activists. “It has a universal quality.

“I believe that every child is born with artistic skills. Sadly the society kills the artist in us. There’s also a poet in everyone.”

In her work related to the devastating 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, Prof Hashmi has poignantly captured the wisdom and creative sensibility of children. At the session, she related how in the aftermath of the catastrophe, while rescue efforts were under way, she had been struck by a child’s unusual behaviour. Every day, the child would visit the site where his school once existed. He’d sit quietly amidst the rubble. “To me, it represented a pining for education, even in the face of extreme adversity,” she said.

“People ask me if a revolution will ever happen. I tell them that improving gender balance in organisations and educational institutions is nothing short of a revolution. I am pleased to see that many organisations now have an equal number of male and female workers.”

Syed Abbas Hussain is a communications specialist and development sector professional with a background in journalism, theatre, music and documentary production