Scintillating performance by Nahid Siddiqui
Pakistan’s leading exponent of classical dance, Ms Nahid Siddiqui, presented a breath-taking exposition of her art at Aga Khan University. The event was held to raise funds for Aga Khan University Hospital’s (AKUH) Patient Welfare Programme. Such fundraisers have become a source of helping fulfil a philanthropic need, but also provide cultural entertainment for the donating citizens of Karachi.
Ms Nahid Siddiqui’s forte is the Kathak dance, and the theme for this evening was ‘Dhyana – discovery of the inner self’. Having trained under Maharaj Ghulam Hussain Kathak, she has earned accolades in many parts of the world. In 1979 Ms Nahid moved to the UK, where she taught the Kathak dance at the Birmingham Arts Council.
Ms Nahid frequently paused during her performance to explain the meaning of her gestures and the philosophy behind the Kathak dance. The audience, ranging from individual donors to senior corporate executives, appreciated the information as it highlighted many aspects of the dance.
AKUH raises funds from corporate entities and other individual and group donors for its Patient Welfare Programme, by hosting performances, for the benefit to those patients who are unable to afford the medical cost of treatment. In 2006, more than 74 per cent of all patients treated at AKUH were from low to middle-income groups. Since the inception of this welfare programme in 1986, over Rs 1.6 billion has been disbursed to more than 300,000 needy patients.
Ismailimail 