Shakir Ali, an Enigma within a Layered Reality’

Abstract

Shakir Ali was a man of multiple identities. As a teacher, the administrator of an art college and a prolific artist, in the beginning years of the newly founded post-colonial state of Pakistan, he enjoyed an almost mythical reputation among the many subsequent generations of art students and artists. This research paper delineates his path as an administrator/educator at the new art college, National College of Arts (NCA), while contextualizing it with his other identities. He was an artist, an occasional writer and had earlier taught at the Mayo School of Arts (MSA). A probe into the realm of art instruction in the early days of a post colony provides valuable insights into the socio-political and cultural contexts thereby facilitating the analysis of administrative constraints as well as instructional methodologies. The methodology adopted is that of qualitative research, structured and un-structured interviews with the first and second batch of students of newly founded NCA, triangulation being done through archival sources and published literary accounts.