ar Gardens: A Journey through Conflict in Search of Calm, by Lalage Snow (Quercus Publishing, 2018) is a book about horror and violence and how some victims of wars can maintain fragments of normality through the fragrance of flowers by tending to gardens. War Gardens is, therefore, an apt title for a show at Koel Gallery in Karachi by Meherunnisa Asad of Studio Lél, Peshawar, curated by art critic Amra Ali. Studio Lél supports both local craftsmen and Afghan artisans who fled the war in Afghanistan. The word Lél means mountain or abode.

For three glorious decades, Studio Lél has been immersed in the timeless craft of pietra dura (meaning hard stone in Italian), known as parchin-kari in the vibrant heart of South Asia. The pieces on display at the show depict the dance of sliced, meticulously cut – obvious in the graceful and delicate flower tendrils and the thin, curving lines – flawlessly fitted semi-precious stones of various kinds, inlaid in marble.

The origins of pietra dura may be traced back to the ancient grandeur of Rome, but it has gracefully woven its tapestry into the rich fabric of the Indian subcontinent. Old architectural marvels stand as living testaments to this waning art. It is said that it was brought to India in the 17th Century by Emperor Shah Jahan when he commissioned the Taj Mahal and brought experts from Persia. To this day, the resplendent Taj Mahal in Agra, and the Sheesh Mahal and Jahangir’s tomb in Lahore are excellent examples of how the Mughals, enchanted by this craft, gave it a home in their imperial opulence in Hindu-Buddhist-Jain-Sikh India.

In a world that races forward, the Lél atelier stands as a guardian of tradition, ensuring that the revival of this indigenous craftsmanship continues. It was set up by Peshawar-based Meherunnisa’s mother, Farhana Asad, to preserve cultural traditions through collaboration with artisans, including those displaced by conflict in Afghanistan. Peshawar is located at the crossroads of Asia and is one of Pakistan’s oldest living cities. Pietra dura is at the crossroads of fine art, design and craft. According to Noorjehan Bilgrami, director of the gallery, it is “Koel Gallery’s mandate to provide a platform where both the ‘crafts’ and ‘fine arts’ are given equal recognition.” For the gallery, this exhibition completes a full circle, as 10 years ago, in October 2013, Koel had hosted Lél’s first solo exhibition.

Over 30 years ago, in the bustling labyrinth of Peshawar’s bazaar, a small marble box with a mosaic lapis eagle caught Farhana Asad’s eye, igniting a profound affair with stone. Intrigued by the artistry, she embarked on a quest to find the artisan. Guided by the shopkeeper selling that lapis box, she tracked down the master craftsman, an Afghan refugee living in Peshawar, carrying the legacy of parchin-kari through generations. After that serendipitous encounter, Farhana embarked on a journey, at first under his tutelage for almost a decade before he returned permanently to his home in Afghanistan.

Her daughter, Meherunnisa Asad is a graduate of the National College of Arts, Lahore, and the Pratt Institute of New York. She is now the creative director of Lél. Taking inspiration from various sources, she has taken it to another level.

Within the grand exhibition, a Panther Head exudes fierce elegance, its eyes locking onto the viewer with an unwavering intensity. Macaws dazzle with tiny rubies adorning their eyes. Lotus, Zer-i-Yak Asmaan and other majestic works stand adorned with a symphony of tourmaline, lapis lazuli, serpentine, calcite, onyx, jasper, amazonite, travertine, river stone, agate, turquoise, tiger’s eye, carnelian, malachite and a treasure trove of more.

In the heart of Pakistan, a land blessed with abundant marble and semiprecious stones, one finds the world’s most exquisite onyx, agate, jasper, jade, serpentine, nephrite, amazonite and marbles of spectacular hues. Lapis lazuli journeys from Afghanistan, turquoise from Iran and malachite from the distant shores of South Africa.

A narrative unfolds beside four small, rectangular artworks, uniting to create a single picture of a bird on a pomegranate tree. An excerpt reads: “She sends me the picture of a pomegranate plucked fresh from the tree, and that becomes the image and the art. Red is a recurring colour, used through ruby, agate and scagliola, where a red mixture is poured inside the metal mould.” The prose meanders through the work, transcending the boundaries “of categorization, it connects to place of history and innovates. It is Lél’s garden.”

It is pertinent here to quote excerpts from the curator’s essay: “Meherunnisa recalls the year 2007-8, when she had returned from her studies at the Pratt Institute and was trying to learn from her mother and a master artisan. ‘Our workshop was close to the Peshawar airport, the US was launching operations from the airport and while we were working, there would be fighter jets flying above us. This was scary. Of course, there were daily suicide bomb attacks in which we lost many friends. My father’s younger brother who was in the police was targeted and passed away. A whole chain of suicide attacks took the lives of many of our friends. Then this spread to other parts of Pakistan.’ It is the paradox of finding beauty, and keeping faith. Her mother, she says, was ‘a light in the darkness, even as she was growing up. War Gardens is Meherunnisa’s tribute to her mother and to the master artisans at Studio Lél.”

The writer is an author, illustrator and educator. She may be contacted at  husain.rumana@gmail.com