Salima Hashmi, a professor of visual art and design, painter, curator, writer, peace activist, and the eldest daughter of the renowned Urdu poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz and his British-born wife, Alys Faiz, shares anecdotes about her father and the political activism within her family. She is in conversation with broadcaster Pervaiz Alam.

This podcast was recorded on 11 October 2025 before an invited audience at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, University of London. It forms part of the 12th Faiz Peace Festival, organised by the Faiz Cultural Foundation UK in collaboration with the SOAS South Asia Institute.

Salima Hashmi also unravels the mystery surrounding her birth, confirming she was born in 1942 at Lady Hardinge College Hospital in New Delhi. She recalls that her parents lived in Lodhi Colony, near the iconic Lodhi Gardens.

She recounts an anecdote from when she was just eight years old, when paramilitary forces arrived at their home to arrest her father, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, in connection with the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case of 1951. This session was dedicated to the memory of Shoaib Hashmi, the legendary producer of radio, television, and music programmes, professor of economics, political activist, and Salima Hashmi’s husband, as well as the iconic singer of the Nayyara Sings Faiz album, Nayyara Noor. Salima Hashmi shares how Nayyara Noor was deeply reluctant to appear on television.

Presented and produced by Pervaiz Alam for London-based Cine Ink, a hub for podcasts in Hindi and Urdu, the series is also accessible on major social media platforms, including YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. On X: @pervaizalam. All Cine Ink podcasts can be found on its website, www.cineink.com.