JEDDAH, 5 May — He is one of the greatest exponents of Urdu poetry in all its forms. Gifted with a rare mode of thought and feeling about love and rebellion, he has given a new meaning to the craft of Urdu poetry. Ahmed Faraz gave a glimpse of his poetic genius at a mushaira (poetry reading session) organized here on Thursday night by the Pakistan Social and Cultural Organization (PASCO).
It was indeed a rare treat to listen to this towering Urdu literary figure whose inimitable work has inspired generations of Urdu lovers. He passionately spoke of the need for “cultural landscaping” in Pakistan. “We should rise above politics and come together to promote our culture... Such functions should be held more often as they are part of the cultural landscaping that I am talking about... This is the only way of correcting the negative image that our beloved country has acquired in recent years.”
Ahmed Faraz fans here in the Kingdom, whose numbers are legion, packed the Saudi German Hospital Auditorium and hung onto his every word and couplet with bated breath. They kept reminding him of his best poems and best couplets as they knew all of them by heart. Faraz did not let them down one bit.
This is how he described his incarceration during one of the military regimes in Pakistan. The clarity of thought and imagery and the symbols used in these lines speak volumes about the mastery that Faraz has acquired over the craft of creative writing in Urdu.
Itna sannata ke jaise ho sukoote sehra
Aisee taariki ke aankhon ne
duhaee di hai
Dar-e-zindaan se pare kaun
se manzar honge
Mujhko deewaar hi deewar
dikhayee di hai
Door ek faakhta boli hai sare
shaakh-e-shajar
Pehli aawaaz mohabbat
ki sunayee di hai.
There was a thunderous applause. And this was just the beginning. A product of the progressive movement that came to dominate Urdu literature in the 1940s and 1950s, Faraz then touched the hearts of his fans with some superlative ghazals.
Misaale dast-e-zulekha tapaak
chahta hai
Yeh dil bhi daaman-e-Yusuf hai
chaak chahta hai
Idhar udhar se kayee aa
rahee hain awaazen
Aur us ka dhyaan bahot
inhimaak chahta hai
Duwayen do mere qaatil ko sab
ke shehr ka shehr
Usee ke haath se hona halaak chahta hai
That was just incomparabale. Faraz then demonstarted his ability to turn words and phrases into things of beauty:
Ek to khwab liye phirte ho
galiyon galiyon
Us pe takraar bhi karte ho
kharidaar ke saath.
Earlier, Dr. Peerzada Qasim held total sway over the audience with his refreshing lines. A poet seeped in the intricacies and nuances of Urdu language, he recited exquisite couplets. His depth of thought can be gauged from the following couplets:
Yaad kya daste hunar hai ke
sanwarta gaya main
Us ko socha to use yaad hi
karta gaya main
Ek tasveer banaayee thi
mukammal na huyee
Ek hi rang lahu rang tha
bharta gaya main.
And when he started reciting this poem, the audience were swooning with excitement along every word:
Ruswaayi ka mela tha
so maine nahi dekha
Apna hi tamaasha tha
so maine nahi dekha
Us khwab-e-tamanna ki
taabeer na thi koyee
Bas khwab-e-tamanna tha
so maine nahi dekha
Pyaase to rahe lekin
tauqeer nahi khoyee
Darya wo paraya tha
so maine nahi dekha.
His “Ek diya bujha huwa” was also very well-received.
Another prominent poet from Pakistan who captivated the audience was Zafar Iqbal. The audience burst into laughter when he said:
Na koyi baat karni hai
na koyi kaam karna hai
Aur us ke baad kaafi der tak
aaraam karna hai
And then Zafar Iqbal launched into serious stuff sending one and all into a crescendo of wah-wahs and serious introspection. One could feel the audience identifying themselves with these couplets:
Lafz patton ki tarah udne lage
chaaron taraf
Kya hawa chalti rahee aaj mere
charon taraf
Aasman par koyi tasveer
banata hun Zafar
Ke rahe ek taraf aur lage
chaaron taraf
Etebaar Saajid was also successful in driving home his point with some thought-provoking couplets:
Hai itna shor kissi se mukhatib bhi nahin
Jo sun sakte hain
bas unhee ko sunayee dete hain
The consul general of Pakistan, Qazi Rizwan-ul-Haq Mehmood, took everybody by surprise when he recited a couple of very good couplets of his own:
Us ke dushwaar raste pe chalta huwa
Gir pada hun dubara sambhalta huwa.
The consul general congratulated Sher Bahadur Khan on organizing such a beautiful function and said it should become a regular feature. He said he would be going to Abu Dhabi in June and therefore the event had come like an icing on the cake. He thanked the community for promoting the culture and ethos of Pakistan here in the Kingdom.
The mushaira was conducted by Muhammad Ali and it also included local poets in Munawwar Hashmi, Naseem-e-Sehr, Umar Saleh Al-Aidroos and Naeem Bazidpuri.