This image is digital invitation of the prestigious Asian Study Group presentation focusing work of Honourable Arif Mehmood, a photographer par excellence. Arif devoted his life to shooting people, bringing their dead past into life that makes his clicks mostly immortal and master piece of photographic art.
I am honoured knowing Arif by virtue of our professional association with the Dawn Media Group, where he devotedly worked at White Star, professionally archiving the Newspaper invaluable photographic archive under the meticulous guidelines of the newspaper’s CEO Honourable Hameed Haroon. The Dawn CEO’s contribution to art and culture words alone would not suffice to highlight unless one sees his curated exhibitions with naked eyes mostly held at the Mohatta Palace sponsored by his own Dawn Media Group.
I anxiously look forward attending this event on 28th January at Marriott Islamabad and with it my thoughts get drifted towards people obsessed with art and one such iconic figure was a German photographer, who spent much more time shooting photographs than people on the battle field .
Franz Grasser… as a German soldier (in the Soviet Union, in 1943) and as a civilian (in Haiti, in 1936). He did not survive the war, but left behind priceless legacy of thousands of photographs.
To Arif Mehmood, I owe personal gratitude of his lense having caught me unaware , besides the bed bound late Begum Saeed Haroon, while I was waiting to get her gastronomic related publication autographed at her Sea Field residence in Karachi. For me meeting her was ritualistic, whenever I visited Karachi.
My late father’s persona and Begum Saeed Haroon had one common characteristics – the childish innocence that always radiated positivity. Both were all smile and love whoever met them in their lifetime, being humble and harmless. Good luck Arif you mummified many Kings and Queens of their times with your lens.
