Islamic arts festival draws large audiences.

LAHORE -- Some thought-provoking sessions, Sufi music, grand participation of school and university students in calligraphy workshops and book and food stalls featured the third day of the International Islamic Arts Festival at Alhamra, The Mall, on Saturday.

Recorded music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's numbers and other Sufi singers kept the visitors engaged throughout the day. The turnout at the festival was a good on Saturday due to holiday in educational institutions.

The four-day Islamic art festival, being organised by the Lahore Arts Council (LAC) and Pakistan Arts Council of Karachi is continued successfully. On the third day of the festival, various sessions were held in which people who had an interest in the Islamic art participated in large numbers. The seating arrangements were made on the lawns of the Alhamra Art Centre for the visitors. The podium was well decorated with illuminations and flowers as Sufi singer Tehseen Sakina enthralled a big gathering in the evening.

The third day of the festival started with the a session, titled 'Splendors of Muslim Achievements,' in which Dr Tehniyat Majeed from LUMS spoke on the illustrated page with the horoscope of a Timurid prince, Prof Dr Rafya Tahir from the University of Punjab spoke on The Aesthetics of Mughal Style of Illumination in Quran Manuscripts, Calligraphic Masterpiece, Mass Produced Scripture, Early Quran Printing in Colonial India by Prof Urlik Stark...