KARACHI: Munfarid, poetry collection by a senior poet and journalist Rafiq Jabir, was discussed at the Irteqa literary Forum on Sunday.

Mahmood Wajid, during the discussion, found Jabir’s poetry the product of a highly creative mind. The poet started writing poetry in 1943, his commitment to it spanned over sixty years, but “a single brief volume we have with us only gives the impression that after partition, in later decades, he paid less attention to this genre.

Jabir’s command over different forms of poetry and the creative exaltation it carried was commendable, Wajid said.

Among others who took part in the discussion included Ali Haider Malik, Shabnam Siddiqui, Saba Ikram, who presented a brief paper, and also Anwer Ahsan Siddiqui, whose article was read out by Wahid Bashir, since Anwer Ahsan could not attend the meeting.

At the outset, Jamal Naqvi read out an introductory article covering RJ’s person and poetry with a short comparison to other senior contemporary masters such as Josh, Sardar Jafery, Majrooh, Faiz and some others.

Ali Haider Malik recalled the Progressive Writers’ Movement of the decade of the 40s and RJ’s association with it, highlighting the cause of the workers and peasants. But after independence was won, the poet’s agenda changed, and it shifted to democracy. His loyalty with the ideology and search for healthy democratic values were praiseworthy, Malik said.

Anwer Ahsen Siddiqui in his article thoroughly surveyed the poetic, also journalistic career, of RJ and found him a man of extraordinary abilities.

Saba Ikram briefly discussed RJ’s quatrains close to the diction and vocabulary employed by Josh and said the former was influenced by Firaq as well, when it came to his love poetry.

Wajid and others felt that RJ should come out with his poetic work which remained unpublished yet.— Hasan Abidi