Death of an artist

There is shock at the mysterious death of Pakistan’s foremost living artist. Dawn reported: “Artist Abdul Mohammad Ismail, better known as Gulgee, wife Zareen Gulgee and a maidservant were found murdered in their Clifton residence on Wednesday afternoon.” The police said nothing of value appeared to be missing. According to The Daily Times, “Gulgee is particularly famous for his Islamic calligraphy and ‘action painting’ in which he freely applied colourful brushstrokes which turned into a symbol of strength, energy and power. He was a self-taught abstract and portrait painter and before 1959 also painted the Afghan royal family.”

In a week that ended Friday with a terrible suicide attack on a Peshawar mosque, there was also a rail tragedy. Fifty persons were killed and more than 200 injured when the Lahore-bound Karachi Express derailed near Sukkur. In an editorial Friday, The Daily Times demanded privatisation and better regulation of Pakistan Railways.

mini.kapoor@expressindia.com