KARACHI, Aug 20: Arif Shafique was the guest of the evening at a function held by Bazm-i-Nashoor on Thursday to honour him for his poetry collection, titled 'Yaqeen'.

Prof Dr Farmanpuri presided over the proceedings and spoke well on Shafique's "awami poetry." Farasat Rizvi, a known figure at PTV, was the compere.

Arif Shafeeq, coming from a family of poets - his father Shafique Ahmad, a known literary figure some decades back, and his mother also a poet - was born and educated in Karachi. He started writing poetry at an early age.

His collection 'Yaqeen' carrying 500 ghazals, is a voluminous book by all standards, that gained instant popularity after getting published. A born Karachian, Shafique, in his early youth felt intensely for the marginalised people of the city, denied of basic necessities of daily life, and further affected by the deteriorating situation of law and order.

Shafique's ghazals, entirely different in content and treatment from those of his contemporary poets, were popular and earned him the title of 'Awami Shair', as it carried the message of love and sympathy for the common citizens, and reflected their problems.

His ghazals, in their continuity, appeared like one complete 'nazam', a Shehr-i-Aashoob, Dr Farman said, as he admired the poet for his craft in composing poetry. However, he was more eloquent in defining the merits of ghazals found in other poets - from Iqbal to Hasrat, to Asghar, to Majrooh and many other poets - he could recall during his speech.

The speakers included Afzaal Siddiqui, president Bazm-i-Nashoor Qamar Jalali, Ahmad Altaf, S.A. Alvi and Shameem Shamsi. Mr Shamsi regretted that social sciences were being neglected in educational institutions. The function held after 8pm, two hours late from the scheduled time, pained all those who had come in time at the Sadequain.