"I had the honour of being a student at the college from 1966 to 1968 when Faiz was at the helm of its affairs."

Lyari is an old settlement of Karachi’s working class that has not received its due share of the city’s development resources. Sir Haji Abdullah Haroon and Begum Nusrat Haroon were among the few people who took practical measures for the welfare of the people living in this poverty-ridden locality. They set up a free school, an orphanage and some welfare organisations to uplift the lives of Lyariites.

The school they had set up evolved into Haji Abdullah Haroon College and it was a pleasant surprise when Faiz Ahmed Faiz, by then already an internationally renowned man of letters, took over as the principal in 1964. As he himself said:

Maqaam Faiz koi raah mein jacha hi nahin

Jo koo-e-yaar say niklay to soo-e-daar chalay

I did not find a spot worthy of lingering on my way

When made to quit the beloved’s lane, I strode directly

to the gallows

He accepted this position as a challenge apparently because of his revolutionary vision and his determination to help ameliorate the sufferings of the masses. It is probably because of the inspiration that Faiz provided to his students from Layri that it is still known as a progressive and enlightened neighbourhood.

I had the honour of being a student at the college from 1966 to 1968 when Faiz was at the helm of its affairs. I also had the privilege of being the elected general secretary of the student union and the secretary of the tutorial group at the college. As he was the chairman of the student union, my role provided me ample opportunity to meet and talk to him frequently and seek his advice and guidance.

He always wore a serene expression on his face, speaking in a low tone. He was kind and affectionate with a relaxed, informal manner. It was under his guidance that I attended Radio Pakistan’s weekly programme for students and similar programmes that were held at other colleges. Sometimes he would sit with the students on the lawn of the college, sharing his latest poetry with them, commenting on current affairs and conversing with them without any reservations. He and his students seemed to be bound together in a relationship that made Haji Abdullah Haroon College one of Karachi’s key learning centres of the time.

I was deeply impressed by Faiz’s guidance, sincerity and affection. He was such a phenomenal literary personality that wherever he stayed, he left deep imprints of knowledge and greatness. That is why even after having moved away from the college long ago I feel that the effect he left on my heart has never waned.

I will never forget Faiz.

Inspired by him, Lyari has produced high quality men of letters, educationists, social scientists, journalists and politicians. Even today, a group of dedicated activists exist in the locality that follow Faiz’s philosophy of life and tries to implement it in political and cultural spheres. As he said:

Jo tujh say ehd-e-wafaa ustawar rakhhtay hain

Ilaj-e-gardish-e-lail-o-nihaar rakhhtay hein

Those who have a steady relationship with you

Know how to deal with the vagaries

of day and night.