An Artists visits Ravi

The photographs below are scenes at the Ravi recording the ‘art intervention’ by Lahore based artist Maryam Rehman. Her brief write up explains her intention.

” River Ravi, the life force of Lahore has for centuries touched and nourished life around it.

Today its murky waters suffer from extreme pollution, a major reason for which is the constant disposal of untreated industrial effluent. Amongst the industrial units which discharge untreated waters into the river, leather tanneries are key pollutants.

The lotus flower, or Padma in Hindi remains common to all South Asian cultures as the supreme symbol of purity. The heavily scented lotus or the ‘fairest flower’, blossoms in murky waters yet remains completely unblemished.

What happens when the lotus gets corrupted?

The lotuses have been allowed to find their way to places not pre-empted. The river’s natural course will determine whether these objects are to be found, discarded or lost. As a public art project, the work communicates with people whose lives are tied with the river and who suffer at its hands. “

Sunset at Ravi

The Ravi River (Sanskrit: रवि, Punjabi: ਰਾਵੀ, Urdu: راوی) is a river in Pakistan and India. It is one of the five rivers which give Punjab its name. The Ravi was known as Parushani or Iravati to Indians in Vedic times and Hydraotes to the Ancient Greeks. It originates in the Himalayas in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh following a north-westerly course.

It turns to the south-west, near Dalhousie, and then cuts a gorge in the Dhaola Dhar range entering the Punjab plain near Madhopur. It then flows along the Indo-Pak border for some distance before entering Pakistan and joining the Chenab river. The total length of the river is about 720 km. The waters of the Ravi river are allocated to India under the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan and the resulting Indus Basin Project. It is also called ‘The river of Lahore‘ since that city is located on its eastern bank. On its western bank is located the famous town of Shahdara with the tomb of Jahangir and the Tomb of Noor Jahan.

Credits: Photograph by Waheed Khalid. Clicking on image will take you to original photographer’s flickr page. Text Source: WikiPedia