LITERACY NOTES: Nagi, the last of the legends.

(From Business Recorder)

Byline: ARIEL

The veteran pointer of Pakistan, Ahmed Nagi, turned 90 on February 2, this year. He is the only artist who was commissioned to make a portrait of the Quaid-i-Azam. The Quaid sat before him 41/2 hours at the residence of Mian Bashir Ahmed in Lahore in 1944.

Alas! The rare painting, which remained hung on the wall of the V.I.P. lounge of Karachi Airport for many years was stolen by some crazy person and now nobody knows where it is being kept.

Born in Amritsar in 1916 in a family of artists and artisans, the world famous Abdur Rahman Chughtai being one of his close relatives, his mother belonged to the Royal family of Delhi and his father to the clan of 'Nagis' of the Rajhastan origin settled for long in Punjab. Nagi's father rose to be Garrison Engineer in the British India's M.E.S. and enjoyed close ties with the Muslim artistocracy of north India.

He got the best possible school education. Most of his teachers were British. His art teacher was Miss Bakely, an eminent painter in her own right, who taught at Cambridge School, Darya Ganj, Delhi. She also taught him dancing.

Nagi began his career as …