To celebrate 'Heer Ranjha' the most popular love story of Punjab by the renowned 18th century poet Waris Shah (1722-1798), Liaqat Inayat accompanied on Flute by Akmal Qadri will present traditional recital of the story. Ayesha Ali will present contemporary compositions & musically explore the image of Ranjha in Punjabi classical poetry.

Following audio Cd's prepared by Chitrkar will be available for sale,

1. One hour audio recording of complete story of 'Heer Ranjha' narration & traditional recital.

2. A one hour reading of 'Heer Ranjha' by Huma Safdar.

3. Part 1 of the set of twenty-five audio CD’s consisting of complete text of 'Heer Ranjha' by Waris Shah rendered in traditional style.

4. 'Baba Farid to Khwaja Farid' a selection from the classical Punjabi poetry sung by Ayesha Ali.

Explore Music at Chitrkar website for free downloadable music.

About workshop
Art education for children is accepted as a necessary component of educational ventures and for the promotion of art in society. In Pakistan facilities for fine arts, music and theater are virtually absent or minimal in the formal educational institutions, media and environment of Pakistani children. Art for children is not a privilege but a necessity to help them realize their native potential as creative human beings.
The average Pakistani child suffers not only from the lack of artistic exposure but also from a more destructive assault of alien and mostly meaningless cultural entertainment delivered by the electronic and print media. There is a dearth of good music especially composed for children and hence either Western music or popular music is the only choice available for children. In the first instance, the themes and characters are totally alien to the environment of the children and in case of the available local music the lyrics and content are irrelevant for the young child. At Chitrkar workshop painters, musicians and theater persons work with children to explore painting, music and theater that draw inspiration from our local environment and heritage.

The workshop will be held on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, 10am to 1pm. 

Last date for registration is 26th June 2008, limited seats, first come first serve.

Monthly classical music concert with Zohaib Hassan on Sarangi & Raza Shaukat on Tabla. The concert will commence with a Tabla solo followed by classical recital on Sarangi.

Zohaib Hassan is the most promising young Sarangi player, he hails from Delhi Gharana of Sarangi playing represented till late 70's by legendary Ustad Natthu Khan.

Raza Shaukat is the son of legendary Tabla maestro Ustad Shaukat Hussain of Punjab Gharana. He performs regularly and teaches Tabla both at NCA and Punjab university, Lahore.

Suggested donation, Rs.100/-

Chitrkar Violin/Keyboard class instructor Mohammad Aslam will present classical Euoropean and Indian compositions on Violin; accompanying him will be Shahbaz Aslam on Keyboard and Mohammad Riaz, who will present solo Tabla of Punjab gharana (style) as well as accompany the Violin recital.

suggested donation: Rs.100/-

The script for Punjabi language is different in both Punjab's, Shahmukhi in Pakistan and Gurmukhi in India, a script which was introduced by Guru Angad Dev in the 16th century. Gurmukhi is a simplified script that contains ten vowels and forty consonants. The script is written just as you would speak the language, thus making learning to read and write much easier.
A short course of Gurmukhi is to be conducted by Dr. Virinder Singh Kalra, visiting professor of sociology at LUMS university, Lahore. Held on Wednesday & Thursday (7/8 & 14/15 May) the four sessions will focus on reading and writing Gurmukhi, it is expected that the participants will be able to continue on there own after the short course.

Last date for registration, 5th May,2008. 

About Dr Virinder S Kalra

I did my doctorate at Manchester University and have been a member of staff here since 2000, with a previous appointment at the University of Leicester. My research interests are in the field of racism, ethnicity and the related studies of diasporas and transnational communities.I am currently involved in a number of research projects. The first is a collaboration with French colleagues looking at the public disorders in the UK and France. I am also involved in the AHRC funded, Writing the British Asian city project (see). My overseas collaboration are with Punjabi University in Patiala, India and I have recently secured a Leverhulme Overseas Scholarship to develop migration and diaspora studies at Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan.I am on sabbatical 2007-8. I am currently supervising a number of Phd students in the following topic: Mixed-race identities; Transnational community practices; Muslim Prisoners. I am happy to supervise in the areas of diaspora, transnational communities, racism and ethnicity.

For more information about the instructor.

virinder.kalra@manchester.ac.uk