PESHAWAR: Professor Ghayoor Hussain, liaison officer at Khana-i-Farhang, Iran’s cultural centre, on Tuesday launched Persian translation in verse form of Rehman Baba’s complete poetic works at the Islamia College here.

Khana-i-Farhang, Rehman Baba Adabi Jirga and Islamia College, Peshawar’s Pashto department jointly arranged the function to pay tribute to 17th century legendary Sufi poet.

Speaking on the occasion, Professor Ghayoor said Persian translation of Rehman Baba’s complete works in verse form was rendered by noted scholar and poet late Professor Fazle Haq Shaida, a teacher at Islamia College, Peshawar, around 35 years ago.

He said Shaida’s daughter Naseema recently got the poet’s works published and gifted a set of the publication to Iran’s cultural centre.

“I think it is a highly commendable job, which is expected to be received well by Persian speaking circles,” he said.

“Khana-i-Farhang, Peshawar will organise six events in the honour of noted local poets, including Professor Taha Khan, Yousaf Rija Chesti, Reza Hamdani, Farigh Bukhari and Professor Khatir Ghaznavi during the current year. Seminars and symposia will also be held to honour local poets for literary services,” he said.

Reading out the message of the director general of Iran’s cultural centre, Ali Yousafi, Mr Ghayoor said the celebrations of Jashn-i-Nauroz (new Persian calendar year) coincided with the Urs of Rehman Baba, which was a good omen.

“As great Persian poets Hafiz, Rumi and Saadi are not alien to Pashtuns and similarly, Ghalib, Iqbal and Rehman Baba are quite familiar figures for Iranians. Great poets cannot be confined to geographical boundaries,” the message read.

Former director of Pashto Academy at the University of Peshawar Professor Rajwali Shah Khattak said Pashtuns loved Sufi poetry of Rehman Baba as much as they did 300 years ago.

He said humanism, humility and universality were the three hallmarks of Rehman Baba’s poetry from which Pashtun poets drew inspiration.

“In every age, Rehman Baba will continue inspiring generation of poets. He was not just a reclusive Sufi but was conscious of political and social situation around him,” he said.

Professor Zubair Hasart, director at Pakhtunkhwa Centre of the Bacha Khan University, Charsadda, said Rehman Baba acclaimed widespread popularity among Pashtuns due to his fluent, simple yet eloquent style.

He said many poets had tried their best to copy Rehman Baba’s style but miserably failed.

“They (poets) could only imitate his (Rehman Baba’s) diction but failed to imbibe the soul of his lofty imagination,” he said.

Mr Zubair said repetition didn’t look awkward with Rehman Baba and rather, it lent beauty to his matchless poetic thought.

Professor Yar Mohammad Maghmoom Khattak dispelled the impression about the Sufi poet that being careless mendicant at times he used to throw away his verses into the Bara River.

He said he believed being a keen critic of his own poetry, Rehman Baba might have made a careful selection of corpus of his verses.

“Rehman Baba’s message is still relevant for brining everlasting peace in the restive Pashtun region,” he said.

Research scholar Professor Khalid Khan Khattak, Dr Suhail Insha and poet and columnist Saddullah Jan Barq, who presided over the event, also spoke on the occasion.