But for those who were there, the warmth generated by the wonderful chemistry between Abidi and his long-time friend, Ghazi Salahuddin, who moderated the session, was something to enjoy and cherish. They allowed the discussion to be an interactive chat unencumbered by heavy intellectual overtones. Credit must be given to Salahuddin who never allowed any confusion about who the guest speaker was.

With almost half a century of professional work behind him, Abidi had a lot to talk about; he spoke of his days as a broadcaster and a best-selling author, but there was no more than just a faint hint of narcissism in his words. When asked about his pure and unadulterated Urdu pronunciation despite years of living abroad, especially in an age when it is difficult for people living in Pakistan to match such perfection, Abidi quipped: “Actually, London happens to be a cold place and, as such, things don’t perish in a hurry!”

The session also marked the launch of Abidi’s biography, Qalam Sey Awaz Tak, written by Khurram Sohail. Abidi called most of his work a result of creative insanity that made him undertake four major journeys of thousands of miles and convert them into long-running radio documentaries for the BBC and then into prose. The biography, he said, was also a result of a similar streak in Sohail who managed to discover writings and trivia that Abidi himself had forgotten about.

By the time the session ended the size of the audience had swelled, but still not to the level the session deserved.