KARACHI: Hawas-i-Khasta, a collection of humorous essays in Urdu, written by known columnist Dr S M Moin Qureshi was launched at a local hotel the other day.

The occasion being the annual meeting of the Rotary Club (Clifton), its president Sajjad Husain Zaidi hosted the launch and presided over the function. Mr Moinuddin Haider, former governor, having attained a name for attending book-launchings with a flair, was the cheif guest of the evening. He admired the book for its contents, especially the couplets quoted therein and thanked the Rotarians for their patronage to literary moots.

Referring to the recent craze for Harry Potter’s books in the West, sold in millions, he hoped that efforts would be made to enhance the sale of books containing highly readable stuff here in our country as well.

As according to the Rotarian’s practice, the national anthem was sung by the audience in the beginning, which was admired by Mr Haider. However, he was sad to note that the leaders had failed in the past to build our people a ‘Pakistani nation’.

Aftab Ahmad Khan, the guest of honour, in his brief comments emphasised the need of humorous literature, recalled Mirza Ghalib for his ‘serious humour’ and the later humorists from Sarshar and Farhatullah Beg to Rasheed Ahmad Siddiqui, Hasrat, Insha, Shaukat Thanvi, and now our most noted writer Mushtaq Ahmad Yusfi.

Humorists, he said, serve the people, grieved by the vagaries of life through their writings and also enlighten them with knowledge. He praised Dr Qureshi for his hard work — studious and knowledgeable as he was — earning a doctorate degree, not an “honorary” one, but by dent of his intellect. His books were always readable, he said.

Azher Hasan Siddiqui, also a known columnist, recalled that Dr Qureshi was the winner of the last year’s Best Columnist’s Award. His selection of quotations from the classics and the couplets, he called from a large number of poetry collections so diligently, was admirable which had made his task easier and also shown the way to other pen-pushers. “He has solved a great problem of ours,” he commented.

Zakir Ali Khan, author of several volumes, congratulated the writer and expressed his desire that more efforts should be made to promote Urdu literature.

Fatema Hasan, poet and writer, did the compering during which she introduced the author Dr Moin Qureshi, having scholarship for writing 12 books, six in English and the rest in Urdu, with equal command in literary and social subjects.

Sajjad Hussain detailed the audience about the generous service, the Rotary Club was doing in the social sector, including monetary aid to schools and the institutions of handicapped children, the hospitals and to the poor working women.—Hasan Abidi