KARACHI: Noted poet Mohsin Bhopali was the guest of the evening at the Irteqa Adabi Forum on Sunday. With Hussain Anjum in the chair, among those who paid tribute to the person and admirably talked about his poetry included senior poet Khalid Alig, Dr Jaafer Ahmad, Rahat Saeed, Muslim Shamim, Saba Ikram, Wahid Bashir and many others. It may be noted that MB’s poetry collection ‘Shikast-i-Shab,’— published around four decades back — has reappeared with a valuable addition of verses he wrote during those last years.

Jamal Naqvi, at the outset, introduced the guest and in a brief note enumerated his contribution to various genres of poetry. He, as other speakers did, acknowledged the fact that MB was one of the pioneers of ‘Haiku’ in Urdu and ‘Nazmaney’ — a poetic form which is gaining popularity and is MB’s own creation.

Khalid Alig, Muslim Shamim and Wahid Bashir recalled their friendly relationship with MB, spread over four to five decades, and eulogized his ideological commitment to progressive writings. ”A person who never deviated from the path he had chosen for himself in youth,” Khalid Alig said about the man. “His poetry reflects the eventful and chequered history of the country and of the socio-cultural environment of the present age, changing with the fleeting years,” Muslim Shamim remarked.

M.B. gained popularity at quite a young age, and not only did he retain it, but rose to further eminence by his creativity and hard work, Dr Jaafer remarked. Ms Humra, Khaleequ, Hussain Anjum and Ayub Malik also offered their comments on MB’s poetry.

Rahat Saeed, during the deliberations, put up a resolution describing the murders of Malik Hushiar Ali and his friend Mahboob Ali, recently and in broad daylight, right inside Irteqa’s office under mysterious circumstances. Malik Saheb was a devoted employee of the Irteqa Institute of Social Science, Irteqa Adabi Forum and their allied bodies, and his death was widely mourned not only by the bereaved families and Irteqa members, but also other cultural bodies. Irteqa, the resolution said, was a purely literary and academic body and did not enter into any controversy whatsoever. It was further shocking to note that the killers of the persons at Irteqa had not been apprehended as yet, the resolution added, demanding the government arrest the guilty and do justice without any further loss of time. Prayers were offered for the departed souls.—Hasan Abidi