KARACHI: 'Aasman,' a collection of verses by Abeda Iqbal Azad, was launched at a city hotel on Sunday. Karachi University Vice-Chancellor Dr Pirzada Qasim presided over the event. The speakers at the launch included Prof Riaz Siddiqui, Prof Saher Ansari and others. The poet herself apprised the audience of her literary background and the experiences she had gone through while coping with life and her poetic instincts.

Dr Pirzada Qasim admired Ms Abeda for her deep association with the society and all the human beings, particularly with those who inspired her to acquire knowledge and self-confidence during her formative years. Her poetry was close to nature and the spontaneity in giving vent to her feelings was admirable, Dr Pirzada said.

Prof Ansari, who was chief guest at the launch, was all praise for the poet, with a genuine liking for poetry and a talent which needed encouragement and a little guidance, which he provided by helping her in compilation of her collection of verses. Ms Abeda's concern for the people, the society, her cultural moorings, and tradition was highly commendable, Prof Ansari said.

Prof Riaz Siddiqui, in his brief paper on the collection, found in the poet a sincere love for the common people and also the courage to question the high and the mighty for their wrong decisions regarding the affairs of the state. Her symbols and images, despite being common, had a refreshing quality, Prof Siddiqui said.

Ms Abeda's husband, Iqbal Azad Syed, and some of his colleagues also appreciated the book while comenting on it. Mementos were also distributed among the speakers on the occasion.