KARACHI: A book on eminent Bhopali personalities titled Takzara-i-Shakhsiat-i-Bhopal by Shagufta Farhat was launched at the Federal Urdu University’s Dr A. Q. Khan auditorium on Thursday evening.

Noted scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, who was born in Bhopal, was the chief guest on the occasion. He stated at the outset that he was proud to be a Bhopali.

He said if Sheikh Saadi had seen Bhopal, he would have sung praises for it. He commended the writer for coming out with the book. He was pleasantly surprised to see the auditorium, named after him, brimming with people. He said very seldom did he get to see packed venues, which meant there were quite a few Bhopalis in the audience.

Dr Khan said Bhopal produced many a great man — men of letters, sportsmen and bureaucrats. However, he clarified, not all of them were people of good repute. In that connection he recited a couplet by his older brother on a nawab’s lifestyle. He said he had a lot of friends in Bhopal, only two of whom had now survived — Akhtar Husain and Ansar.

Talking of the former he said he’s a photographer who knew a lot about Bhopal. But after reading Ms Farhat’s book (which Dr Khan had sent him) his friend Akhtar Husain exclaimed there was someone who knew more about his city than him, and she lived in Karachi.

Dr Khan briefly spoke on some famous men from Bhopal, including on Muhammad Ahmad Sabzwari, the 100-year-old scholar who presided over the launch, and writer Asad Muhammad Khan, who was also present in the auditorium. He said poets like Moin Ahsan Jazbi and Sheri Bhopali hailed from the city. He seemed particularly fond of the latter as he read two of his verses, one of which was:

Agar kuchh thi to bus itni tamanna aakhri apni Ke tum saahil pe hote aur kashti doobti apni (My last wish was nothing more than the desire To see you standing on the shore as my boat capsized)

Muhammad Ahmad Sabzwari in his presidential address touched upon the role of women in the state of Bhopal. He was of the view that women constituted an active and efficient segment of Bhopali society. It was sad to see that not much attention was paid to Mr Sabzwari’s address because prior to that Dr Khan had left the university premises and the audience appeared to have lost interest in the event.

Prof Sahar Ansari said by writing the book Ms Farhat had achieved a significant feat. He argued that the tradition of tazkara naveesi among Muslims was an old one, but initially, such as in the case of Aaen-i-Akbari by Abdul Fazl, it was only aimed at eulogising people. Subsequently, the trend changed and criticism was included in the genre as well. One prominent example that he gave in that regard was of Mohammad Husain Azad’s Aab-i-Hayat. He told the attendees that Ms Farhat had written about some distinguished personalities, such as Nawab Hameedullah Khan and writer Asad Muhammad Khan. He appreciated the fact that the writer had worked hard on the subject because there were certain individuals mentioned in her book about whom there might not be any information available even on the Internet.

The author, Shagufta Farhat, in her speech acknowledged Dr Khan’s presence at the event lauding his services for Pakistan. On the genesis of the book she said her parents were from Bhopal and like them she too felt affectionately towards the city.

Prof Dr Suleiman D. Muhammad, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal Urdu University, said his institution despite its meagre resources would keep collaborating on literary and cultural programmes and work for the cause of Urdu.

Abdul Haseeb Khan was all praise for Dr Khan and the services he rendered for Pakistan. He said that for the six years he was in parliament, he did not see a single parliamentarian speak about the underprivileged segment of society or about important issues like education and poverty.

Prof Dr Younus Hasni and Qamarun Nisa Qamar also spoke. Owais Adeeb Ansari thanked the guests and speakers for taking part in the event. Ambreen Haseeb Ambar anchored the programme which was organised in collaboration with the Mohibban-i-Bhopal Forum.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2015

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