“The ocean can be yours; why should you stop Beguiled by dreams of evanescent dew? The secrets of the sun are yours, but you&nb
“The ocean can be yours; why should you stop
Beguiled by dreams of evanescent dew?
The secrets of the sun are yours, but you
Content yourself with motes trapped in beams.”
Farīd al-Dīn ʻAṭṭār
It is with these words that the Hoopoe encouraged the Peacock to look at the greater picture and seek higher aspirations, elucidating that the expedition for ultimate wisdom must not be limited by oneself.
Manti Al-Tayr (Conference of the Birds – is an allegory of the human quest for the Divine, is a Persian poem by Sufi poet, hagiographer and theoretician of Sufism Farid-ud- din Attar. Written in the twelfth century in North-Eastern Iran, this poem is among his most loved works and a significant contribution to Persian literature. This allegorical poem is a potent work of literature emphasising the human struggle to attain insight and enlightenment. Even though it is a magnificent way to introduce Sufi’s thoughts and teachings, it is a poem with many lessons from our time. Attar’s poem is divided into seven valleys; Valley of the Quest, Vallery of Love, Valley of Knowledge, Valley of Detachment, Vallery of Unity, Valley of Wonderment and Valley of Poverty and Annihilation.
Untitled, Photograph on Acrylic sheet, Lightbox installation with sound
At a recent exhibition at Islamabad’s Khaas Gallery, Nazia Akram showcased imagery which used birds as allegories to investigate the tenuousness of the human condition. Akram is a versatile visual artist with over fifteen years of experience in photography, painting, video art, and documentary filmmaking. Her work is thoroughly absorbing both in terms of aesthetics as well as the theme she addresses. She manages to capture a whole spectrum of emotions amalgamated with the colours, shapes and storyline that are there to pay tribute to them. Her paintings are named after the chapters in the poem, Conference of the Birds.
According to Akram, “the birds idea stared when I was filming/ documenting for my thesis topic in my MFA, which was to portray Sufism in Pakistan. I had visited many shrines in Pakistan. One that stood out for me when I was filming birds flying over the tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam in Multan. The birds would fly around the shrine and then come back, they would do it repeatedly. During this, I took footage as well and photos of the scene. A devotee who was nearby said that the birds fly away to tell Allah the duas or mannats that people have and come back then they do another round and another. The concept was so touching that it stayed with me for a long time.”
In their search for the Simorgh that ultimately resided within themselves, Attār’s birds travelled through seven valleys in which they were set a series of tasks that, if completed, would lead to knowledge. Taking recourse to this itinerary and thus to the structure of the tale, the exhibition is represented by several works of art that anchor Attār’s narration in our present and broaden it to encompass new perspectives, areas of negotiation and exploration.
The Valley of Wonderment I , Oil with Gold Leaf
The Valley of Wonderment in Attar’s poem is where the Voyager enchanted by the beauty of the Beloved, becomes perplexed and and steeped in awe. In Akram’s version of The Valley of Wonderment I, the imagery exudes a warm and regal tint. In the realms of allegory and folklore, the hummingbird has charmed its way into various cultures and is often seen as a messenger of good fortune.
Valley of Detachement , Acrylics on photograph
The British scholar of Islam J. Spencer Trimingham (1904-1987) wrote in his book, The Sufi Orders in Islam:-
The aspirant has: to purify his nafs, i.e. his personality-self, from its inclination to shahawat, that is, the thoughts and desires of the natural man, and substitute these with love (mahabba); then he must be cast into the flames of passion (ishq) to emerge in the state of union (wusla) with transmutation of self (fana) through the gifts of dazzlement and wonder (haira) to everlastingness (baqa).i
The symbolic and iconic dimensions of The Conference of the Birds have been traced both inter- and transdisciplinarily. A human striving for freedom and equality is articulated here transcultural, illustrating the power of the arts, bridging temporal and spatial distances and stimulating reflection. Akram has pursued to represent the tales, with each bird commencing on its distinct journey. In her imagery, the Divine’s grandeur and magnificence are epitomised as the sun—a central disc in each painting.
In the story, by the time the birds pass the seven valleys, only thirty of them remain. There is a pun in this. When “si” [thirty] “morgh” [birds] reach the land of Simorgh, they find not the mythical bird but their reflections in a lake. The thirty birds have gloriously annihilated their “selves” and, consequently, their “souls” now have reached a higher – divine – plane of existence.
Valley of Unity , Mixed Media with Gold leaf
It is in the Valley of Unity where the Voyager comprehends that everything is related and that the Beloved is beyond harmony, multiplicity and eternity. Akram has used gold and blue creatively in this piece. Her use of the colour gold gives the imagery a majestic and ethereal quality. She has played around with the composition of the forms in her painting.
The different pieces being showcased can be woven into one narrative, showing the personal spiritual journey of the artist rather than endorsing a set of isolated ideas. The Conference of the Birds speaks to the challenges faced by individuals in aligning themselves with a common purpose, risking their own lives to achieve it and ultimately emerging strengthened by their unity, which defeats all obstacles.
The exhibition titled Mantiq Al-Tayr by Nazia Akram opened at Khaas Contemporary, Islamabad on January 9th 2025 and conitnued through 21st January 2025.
