Jimmy Engineer is a world renowned artist born in 1954 in Loralai (Balochistan). He earned his graduation from National College of Arts (NCA) and in 1976 he turned into a professional painter. He has mastered many mediums and from realism to calligraphy, in water, oil, pastels etc, be it on canvas, wood or ceramics, he has explored and introduced numerous textures in his works and the amazing versatility is more than evident in his creations. His collection also includes miniatures and self-portraits, many of which are in private collections in Italy, France, Switzerland, Russia, India, China, England, USA and almost in every part of the world, validating his status as an International artist.
Although an artist by profession, Jimmy Engineer’s life has revolved around supporting troubled individuals as well as social work institutions, though he himself prefers to remain undo*****ented and unsung. He is widely known as Pakistan’s indefatigable advocate for the oppressed, disabled, mentally handicapped, impoverished and generally for all who need him as he has the ability to communicate with people from all walks of life.
Yet another achievement, on February 7, 2009 Jimmy Engineer has been appointed by the Mayor of Houston as an Honorary Citizen and selected to serve as Good Will Ambassador of the City of Houston.

Introduction of Jimmy Engineer:

An Artist and a Social Crusader, Jimmy Engineer, was born in Loralai Baluchinstan in a Parsi family in 1954. Jimmy Engineer grew up to break all barriers of caste, creed and religion. His balanced relevance to the rich as well as the poor, literate or illiterate, religious or atheists, spells volumes of his honest dedication towards his aim/mission. Although an Artist by profession but his true passion in life is humanity & human beings welfare. His passion, however, in no way distracts him from his artistic performance as his art has received appreciation & commendation nationally as well as internationally. His canvases on the 1947 holocaust depict in graphic details the suffering, bloodshed and sacrifices offered for the creation of Pakistan. This effort is intended to capture the realization of successive generation of this great Nation and inculcate a similar urge, desire to sacrifice and dedication to the country. These canvases and murals have been exhibited extensively in the country as well as abroad and have won him fame and fortune. He is very generous by nature and is content to lead an ascetic life. He has emerged as a peaceful crusader for the oppressed, disabled, mentally handicapped, impoverished and generally for who so ever needs him. Jimmy has the ability to communicate with people from all walks of life. He has adopted an unusual but highly effective method for creating awareness about issues close to hearts. His numerous walks have taken him over the length and breadth of this country in pursuit of objectives mostly in context of promotion of human rights and dignity, enhancement of quality of life and the creation of an equitable society in this country.


Interview with KalPoint.com


KalPoint: Please tell us about yourself including your brought up, education and achievements?

Jimmy Engineer: I call myself Servant of Allah. I serve Pakistan. I do not work for anything else except for the interest of Pakistan. I was born on 13th August 1954 in Baluchistan. When I was in school, at the age of 6 both of my kidneys failed. Doctors revealed I would not survive for more than 6 months. My parents referred the case to other doctors as well and they all verified it. But after 6 months I didn’t die. After a year, my parents took me to a doctor for check up. They were astonished to observe that both of my kidneys were replaced but not by Doctor. Allah had done it. At that time, we did not have any expertise in kidney operations. This was the first miracle at the age of 6 that both of my kidneys were changed without any medicine or treatment. From that day till now I am just returning the gratitude to Allah. I studied in Lahore, at St. Anthony, then I went to FC College but I didn’t complete. Then I started at National College of Arts but never completed that as well. At that time there was an argument whether an artist need a degree or not. Instead of getting into that debate I simply walked out of my final year. And today I am in front of you. And I think artists do not require a degree. In early 70s, I used to have dreams of black shades, blood dripping and brutality. I could not sleep and I had no idea what it was all about. I consulted a Sufi and asked him what I was seeing in my dreams. He said I was seeing scenes from partitions 1947. I told him that I am restless & could not sleep. He suggested that nature wanted me to paint the scenes of 1947 partition. Therefore, in 1973 I started painting scenes from partitions and didn’t get comfort till in 1984 when I portrayed all the events of partition 1947. Then I did paintings of Iqbal’s poem as requested by Iqbal’s son. Then again when things were going wrong in West Pakistan, I visualized and started painting. In 1994, I also did a walk from Karachi to Peshawar. One year I stayed on roads, meeting people and talking to them. I did not walk with legs rather I walked with my mind. When I walk, I feel nature walks with me. When there was a tension between Pakistan and its neighbor, I had a dream and I told my friend that I want to do a peace walk from Islamabad to Dehli. I held a press conference and announced about this Peace Walk. My friend agreed to sponsor me. I had a uniform for this walk, which carried an Indian and a Pakistani flag.
I was born in a Parsi family but have accepted Islam, Christianity, Hinduism & Buddhism. People ask me why I have accepted all religions. Unless you do not accept the religion of other people how can you change life of other people. Words can never fulfill actions; only actions fulfill words. So I contributed as an Artist, as a Peace Activist and as a Human Rights Activist.


KalPoint: When you started your career, at that time there was no scope for artists and people preferred becoming doctors & engineers. How much backup did you get from your family and friends in this respect?

Jimmy Engineer: When I was 5, I used to do paintings and my parents always appreciated me. As for scope, if one has destined to become an artist, one can never become a doctor or engineer. Also one has to work hard for the destination. Without struggle no one can achieve destination. My parents always supported me and when my name got recognition, everybody appreciated me. Even if I throw my paints, people take it with honor. Once you are established then people appreciate you. I didn’t face any difficulty. I used to work 17 hours a day & have very positive attitude towards life.


KalPoint: Since you are an Artist by profession, what urged you towards Social Services?

Jimmy Engineer: Pakistan doesn’t require great actors but great people. If I create paintings just for the sake of those people who appreciate art, what about those people who are suffering on roads? I feel guilty that I was creating masterpieces and my countrymen were living in miseries. In 1989, I was selected for the top 15 Artists of the World but I left my international career because I would have to travel extensively all over the world to pursue my international career & would not have any time to help the needy people. If the people like Mr. Hanif S. Kalia, others and myself were there why would we go to other directions? I would have only been an Artist if I was in some other country but I am very much concerned with the requirements of our own Pakistanis. This is why I help people through my art. There are some people who are involved in social work because of any guilt or tragedy in their families but in my case there is nothing like that. No body in my family has suffered or faced any tragedy. I am only doing it because I feel it as my duty.


Kalpoint.com: What do you emphasize in your paintings? How do you translate your theme to canvas?

Jimmy Engineer: I have painted History, Philosophy, Landscape, Seascape, Still life, Abstract, Mughal miniature painting, Wars and Tragedies. I have painted all subjects that you can imagine. I have painted thousands of paintings and have also donated lots of them. Subject is something to do with your creativity. I am still learning. I enjoy doing all types of themes.


Kalpoint.com: To what extent are you using IT instrument in your profession as an Artist?

Jimmy Engineer: Honestly speaking, I am not well aware of this new technology. I can use it but to a limited extent but not professionally.


KalPoint: Please tell us about your anti beggary campaign in Karachi.

Jimmy Engineer: While moving in the city I observed streets full of beggars and drug addicts. I talked to the City Administration and drew their attentions towards it. I suggested them that the Police should stop this trade and if a beggar is found in certain area, the SHO of that area should be made accountable for it. But no permanent solutions were implemented. In Gen. Ziaul Haq’s tenure a beggar’s zone was setup in Korangi to teach them some trade or art to earn money but soon it was handed over to Police and then you can imagine the consequences. So I started the campaign in Karachi that motivated other Provinces to start similar campaigns. I Created awareness so that deserving handicapped beggars should be rehabilitated at centers that would provide them their basic needs and would also teach them skills to enable them to lead a productive life.


KalPoint: Your paintings have been exhibited in many countries of the world and they have also earned appreciation. What feed back did you receive from them and how much are you successful in creating awareness about the human plight in those countries?

Jimmy Engineer: In 1979, I was offered to sell my original paintings by Origin Gallery, Surrey, England. They wanted to become marketing agents for my original paintings. Since I was not doing it commercially, I replied them that you can make prints of my paintings and sell it. I would use this money for the Charity. But they didn’t agree, instead they kept insisting on becoming my marketing agents for my original paintings. In USA, I was selected amongst 15 painters around the world to exhibit paintings. They appreciated my work and declared it as the Paintings of International Standard. In my work I pay more emphasis on the technical side and the themes that help me create masterpieces of International standard. Besides, my donation domain is spreaded all over the world. Whenever I was asked to donate my prints for a noble cause I readily accepted it. In this connection I donated thousands of my prints to Mother Teresa when she made a visit to Pakistan.


KalPoint: How much has the Govt. of Pakistan acknowledged your welfare work?

Jimmy Engineer: The greatest reward I have received from Pakistani people is the respect. As far as the Govt. is concerned there is no acknowledgement. Here one has to show what he possesses to the concerned dept. of the Govt. The Govt. itself doesn’t take steps to appreciate and encourage Artists. I have received recognition and respect globally and I always treasure it. I have no complaints to the Govt. in this respect


KalPoint: Since we live in a very complex society and everybody seems to be in hurry, therefore, People have now become rude in behavior. What difficulties did you face fulfilling your mission?

Jimmy Engineer: No I never faced any difficulty in accomplishing my goals. I have always been appreciated. I have Allah’s blessings with me. I don’t do anything for myself. Even if I pray I never pray for myself, I pray for others. Every society has good and bad people. You can’t eliminate the bad people completely because they make the balance in the society. But one should always keep struggling for the good and against the evil.


KalPoint: With the revolution of Information Technology, the world has become a Global Village. Simultaneously lots of Anti Globalization campaigns have also started. Are you involved in to these types of campaigns?

Jimmy Engineer: I am against every thing, which is harmful to humanity. We have to be practical in our approach. In Pakistan they only shout on the road and make a fuss of minor issues. They start burning flags, puppets and buses that create more tension for common man. This should not happen.


Kalpoint: What message would you like to convey to our Netizens?

Jimmy Engineer: We use to see lots of speeches and debates on TV channels, in educational Institutes and during Open Forums where they highlight the evils, its annihilations and criticize on its existence but the need of the hour is to be practical. We must act up on what we say – be practical.


KalPoint: Your efforts are praise worthy towards creating awareness amongst masses about the human rights and dignity. We thank you for being here and honoring us with an Interview. It was very knowledgeable and we believe our Netizens will appreciate too. C U On Net.

Jimmy Engineer: I am very much pleased to see all the work being done here by young professionals under the able guidance of Mr. Hanif S. Kalia and Brig. (R) R A. Soorti. This visit will always remain fresh in my memory. Thank you and C U On Net 2.

Questions By The Netizens/Pakistanis Abroad

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Q: What are the ethics of painting? Do you think every artist follows these ethics?

Jimmy Engineer: I want to educate people through my paintings. Every country has its history painted but it wasn’t done here. I started painting to enlighten the young generation about our history. I am not a commercial Artist; I raise money for charity. But all Artists are not the same. Every Artist has different goals and perception while he is painting. He enjoys the freedom to visualize and transfer it on a canvas. There’s certainly no such hard & fast ethics in paintings.


Q: Who is the best painter in your opinion?

Jimmy Engineer: You can never judge who is the best or worst because it depends on the people whether they like certain Artist or not. If I like some Artist he is the best for me but concurrently you don’t like him. So there is no such race. Universally acclaimed painters like Michael Angelo and others are said to be the great painters of the past but still it depends on the purpose of the Art. If your paintings carries some purpose and is never meant for decoration, the work must be appreciated.


Q: Education, creativity & hard work, what is the most important tool for the success of an Artist?

Jimmy Engineer: That is creativity and hard work but the most important thing is that you have to be born with it. If not then you may still learn it by going up to certain limits; you can’t cross this limit. But if you have it inherited, no barrier would come in your way to success. “A great Artist is a born Artist”.

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