PESHAWAR: Speakers at a ceremony here on Wednesday called upon writers and research scholars to conduct substantive and meaningful research on sufi poet Rahman Baba to explore him in his true colours.

They said that Rahman Baba had poetically landscaped the situation of Peshawar about more than three years ago and advocated the message of peace, universal brotherhood and humanism.

The ceremony was held here at Khana-i-Farhang Iran to launch Nawa-i-Rahman Baba, a Persian version of the poetry of sufi poet. The ceremony was organised jointly by Pakistan Women Writers Forum (PWWF), Pakistan Academy of Letters, and Puhantun Adabi Storee, University of Peshawar.

Director General Iranian Culture Centre Agha Ali Yousafi, who was chief guest on the occasion, said that although eminent Pashto poet and scholar late Fazle Haq Shaida had done Persian translation of Rahman Baba more than three decades ago yet it was fresh and genuine. Both the literary giants Hafiz Shirazi and Rahman Baba shared similarities of thoughts and poetic imaginative flight.

“I will try my best to convey it to my authorities to hold a joint seminar on both these popular poets either in Tehran or Peshawar to further research literary comparisons and draw analogies to establish close resemblance in their thoughts and vision,” he said.

Mr Yousafi said that both the poets had transcended the boundaries of geography, culture and race and therefore, remained in the hearts of people despite the elapse of centuries.

Provincial Additional Secretary Nasser Yousaf said that Pakhtun scholars should conduct research on scientific lines on the literary and social contributions of Rahman Baba.

“Research on such literary luminaries in Pashto is far from being satisfactory today. Pakhtun poets and writers should not limit Rahman Baba only to Pakhtuns because he had a universal thought beyond any prejudice. The time has come to promote the message of peace and tolerance,” he added. Mr Yousaf said that the more they read, the more they got curious. Scholars should search out analogies of great poets and fictionists with other world literati, he said.

Dr Mian Suhail Insha said that about 50 major contemporary poets had praised Rahman Baba which meant the he had enjoyed widespread respect even in his own time.

About 17 scholars had done fragmentarily translations of Rahman Baba, only Fazle Hag Shaida, Robert Sampson -- a British scholar -- and Prof Taha Khan were able to bring out Persian, English and Urdu versions of the sufi poet’s complete works, he added.

“I think the Persian verse translation should be accompanied by the original Pashto text in the next edition, as it could lend more authenticity to the book,” Dr Insha said. Nasima Shaida, the daughter of Fazle Haq Shaida, said that her father being a noted poet and gold medalist in Persian language from the university of Punjab had rendered Rahman Baba in 1976 in fluent, simple and eloquent Persian.

“I am grateful to Sharif Farooq, a close friend of my legendary father, who pointed out this rare document to me. Otherwise it would have been ruined and gathered dust,” she added.

Prof Rajwali Shah Khattak, Prof Abaseen Yousafzai, Prof Tajuddin Tajwar, Bushra Farrukh, Prof Syed Ghayoor Hussain, Binash Shaida, Sher Zaman Seemab, Said Wali Khial and Mushtaq Shabab also spoke on the occasion.