My grandson arrived a fortnight before his tenth birthday demanding a party. Two weeks was too long a time for him to wait to be ‘grown up’. At 20 one looks forward to be ‘A Man’. Each passing / coming generation brings with it varied feelings of excitement, elation, fear and regret. At 70, when I saw my friends and comrades face the inevitability of death there was a dread of no longer being able to be a useful member of the society and this world. I began to have a sense of my own defeat, withdrawal, fading away. In this state of distress and disregarding my life long military experience, I took the qalam as the rein in my weakening hands and calligraphy as an unbroken steed to take me through the uneven and dreaded decade.

In 2011, Hast-o-Neest had just embarked on a commendable journey of providing a platform for oriental arts. I was lucky to be enrolled by Ustad lrfan Qureshi. During the next 8 years under his guidance, I produced over 150 pieces and held successful exhibitions within Pakistan, Tokyo, Kobe, Chicago and in Geneva.

As I enter the Octogenarian decade the mood is entirely different. The limbs have weakend, the population of friends, comrades and relatives has thinned further and the world is in the grip of Covid-19, But there is a feeling of confidence, satisfaction gratefulness and tranquility. The ‘bonus’ of the last decade has not only brought fulfillment of my life long cherished desire, it has also helped me to delve into a spiritual domain and reflect on the meaning of life, creation and relationships.

In the final episode of my life, I find it appropriate to pay tribute to the most loved, most revered and venerable personality of Muslims all over the world who has also been acknowledged as the greatest leader of world History __ Muhammad (peace be upon him). For 1400 years, scholars and artists have written and produced books and art works glorifying Muhammad (peace be upon him) which for me is impossible to emulate.

Although this is almost a solo effort, I must acknowledge the major part played by my tutor Ustad lrfan Qureshi. Suffering from a debilitating illness and fully engaged in producing a historic Qur’an with illuminations on all the pages, he still found time to give guidance, encouragement and ‘lslah’ and added value and beauty to my work. I must also acknowledge the administrative and secretariat support provided very kindly by Brigadier Osman lbne Riaz and his staff.

I am also grateful to Sohail and Faisal for the laborious typing effort.

Humayun Bangash
Abbotabad, 20 June 2021.