The author revisiting the Mangla Dam mural | Image from the book
To pick the right book on Sadequain the highly inventive Pakistani modern artist, poet and calligrapher that complements a reader’s interests, is no easy decision. Previously, art historical scholarship on Sadequain’s art practice in the 2010 book Modernism and the Art of Muslim South Asia by art historian Iftikhar Dadi and 2015’s Sadequain and the Culture of Enlightenment by late art critic Akbar Naqvi focused on Islamic art and Urdu literary traditions respectively, while several tomes that reproduce striking visuals and information have been published by the United States-based Sadequain Foundation.
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In Urdu, the genre of khaaka nigari [sketch writing] has evolved its own distinct style when we compare it to what is called biographical essays in English. The names of Mirza Farhatullah Baig, Ismat Chughtai and Saadat Hasan Manto merit a mention at the outset. Maulvi Abdul Haq’s contribution to this genre through his collection Chund Hum Asr [A Few Contemporaries], first published in 1950 is important because he wrote about those who remained invisible to the eyes of the affluent and educated.
Since the middle of the 20th century, we have seen many such writings appear in newspapers, magazines and collections, with both serious personality sketches as well as caricatures in prose that humour a person or their work. Some important names in Pakistan that come to my mind immediately include Dr Aftab Ahmed, Ahmad Bashir, Sahab Qizilbash, Dr Aslam Farrukhi and Mushfiq Khawaja. There are some sketches which can also fall in the categories of pure satire and humour writing. However