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THE traffic was normal on Quetta’s otherwise overcrowded and narrow Spinny Road at sunset, as I entered the recently established ‘Artist Cafe’ housed at the Noori Naseer Khan Cultural Complex.
At the entrance, a signboard of ‘Artist Cafe’ directed me toward the two small separate gardens, with a green wooden structure in front. That was the tiny cafe, where about a dozen people were sitting in four groups.
Inside the cafe, I encounter Syed Munawar Shah, dressed in a shalwar kameez, making tea for his customers. An artist himself, Shah asks me to give him a few minutes while he serves his customers. Later, he pulls up two chairs near the entrance and speaks to me about the cafe and his journey as an artist.
Born and raised in Mach before moving to Quetta, Shah says his forte is marble art. He has fond memories of the picturesque Mach Valley, which he describes as a source of inspiration for his art.
