KARACHI, Nov 9: The birth anniversary of the great philosopher and poet Allama Mohammad Iqbal was celebrated by various organizations on Sunday.
An impressive seminar was held by Idara-i-adbiat Pakistan with Director Khana-i-Farhang Iran, Aqai Jamshed Khulqi, as chief guest. The speakers included Prof Qalander Likhiari, former head of the English department of the Sindh University, noted critic Dr Yunus Hasni, writer Mr Jazib Qureshi, journalist Sajjad Mir and poet Ghalib Irfan who paid homage to the great poet in his verse.
Dr Manzoor Ahmad also spoke on the occasion.
Aqai Khulqi, eulogizing the “thinker and philosopher” Iqbal, said the eminent poet had linked his poetry with the blissful message of the Quran and thus made his poetry of eternal value. He read out an Iranian poet’s verses written for Allama Iqbal.
Dr Manzoor Ahmad said Iqbal’s poetry was dynamic and called for action, but we had made an idol of him and in our ease and comfort had started worshipping Iqbal, the easiest thing which static minds could do.
“We in our history have also made many other idols. In doing so, we shifted our responsibility to others,” said Dr Manzoor advising the people to look within their souls, discover themselves and change the society with the creativity and dynamism in them.
“Change is the law of nature and also the main theme of Iqbal’s poetry who, with his thought and poetic diction, elevated the status and enhanced the appeal of Urdu and Persian poetry in world literature,” he added.
Earlier, Mr Sajjad Mir complained that the governments of the past and the present, their official bodies and media, had all along been exploiting Iqbal to promote their own ideals; in fact by idolizing Iqbal they had kept him far away from the reach of the people.
Dr Hasni evaluated Iqbal’s poetry, finding in it the most fascinating diction. “Iqbal blended the modern philosophical thought with the classical idiom and used it as a vehicle for his own ideas,” he said.
Prof Qalander Likhiari, who has translated Iqbal’s selected verses into Sindhi, spoke in Persian and presented some of his translated pieces.
Mr Jazib’s essay dealt with Iqbal’s message meant for the youth, and recited some couplets suited to the occasion, such as the following:
Jawanon ko meri aah-i-sahar dey
Phir inn shaheen bachon ko baal-o-par dey
Khudaya arzoo meri yahi hai
Mera noor-i-baseerat aam ker dey.and,
Mohabbat mujhey un jawanoon say hai
Sitaroon pa jo daltey hain kamand.
Director Adbiat, Noor Mohammad Moghal, who was the host of the evening, informed that Adbiat was holding Iqbal Day functions in all the provincial capitals of the country in a befitting manner.
An English book containing essays on Iqbal written during the last one hundred years by two hundred fifty noted writers, and spread over 800 pages, was presented to Aqai Jamshed Khulqi. Another copy of the same book was presented to Dr Manzoor Ahmad.—Hassan Abidi
KARACHI, Nov 9: The birth anniversary of the great philosopher and poet Allama Mohammad Iqbal was celebrated by various organizations on Sunday.
