40th Day: Lahore’s traditions find a place on the gallery walls

Lahore has a way of keeping its memories alive. They can be found in its old streets, historic buildings, gatherings and traditions passed

Lahore has a way of keeping its memories alive. They can be found in its old streets, historic buildings, gatherings and traditions passed down from one generation to another. At the National College of Arts, some of those memories recently found a place on the gallery walls.

Visiting The 40th Day exhibition at NCA, I found myself looking at Lahore’s familiar traditions from a different perspective. Curated by Fiza Jafri, the exhibition brought together different artistic interpretations of the 40-day period of remembrance of Imam Hussain (RA), associated with Chehlum and Arbaeen.

The exhibition focused on Lahore’s experience of these days and the traditions associated with Ayyam-e-Aza. Through the work of different artists, familiar rituals and traditions were brought into the gallery, allowing visitors to see them through art.

What stood out to me was seeing a subject so closely connected with Lahore’s cultural and spiritual life being explored inside an art gallery. It was interesting to see traditions that people have followed for generations being presented through different forms of art.

The exhibition brought together Ali Laraib Rizvi, Aalia Naveed, Farwa Rizvi, Faariha Kazmi, Ghazi Sikander Mirza, Moaz Ahmed Bhangu, Murtaza Zaidi, Nad E Ali, Qurrat-ul-ain Haider, Sana Zahra and Zahid Mayo.

The event also featured the screening of The Story of Haveli Wajid Ali Shah, a documentary directed by Umair Hashmi, bringing another part of Lahore’s heritage into the exhibition.

Actor Imran Abbas attended the exhibition as the chief guest and viewed the artworks presented by the participating artists. Prof. Dr. Murtaza Jafri, Vice Chancellor of the National College of Arts, Lahore, was also there.

For me, it was encouraging to see artists, filmmakers and people connected with the city’s cultural life come together around a subject that carries such deep meaning.

The idea behind The 40th Day also goes back several years. As part of her ethnographic fieldwork in Lahore during Muharram and Safar, Fiza Jafri researched the commemorative period through social anthropology. Rather than keeping that work within academic writing, she wanted to bring it into the world of art.

The idea had been close to her heart for nearly eight years before it finally became an exhibition.

Jafri described Lahore’s dedication to this commemorative period as a love story that deserves to be preserved through literature and art.

Murtaza Zaidi, one of the co-curators, said the exhibition was very close to his heart, particularly because of his work with the ritual histories of the subcontinent and azadari. He connected the exhibition with his own relationship with Lahore’s cultural and spiritual heritage.

For Sana Zahra, the exhibition represented 40 days of grief, reflection and becoming. Her interpretation looked at mourning as a process that can change a person, with grief and hope becoming part of that transformation.

I believe Lahore needs more exhibitions like The 40th Day — exhibitions that give artists the space to explore subjects close to our culture and allow audiences to see different sides of the city’s traditions and history.

Credit goes to Fiza Jafri, the co-curators, the participating artists and the entire team for bringing the exhibition together.

It was an evening where Lahore’s traditions, memories and artistic voices came together under one roof. For me, that is what made The 40th Day special.