PESHAWAR: The Khyber Medical College, Peshawar’s literary society on Friday organised the annual Pashto-Urdu mushaira on campus.

Vice Chancellor of the Agriculture University, Peshawar Professor Zahoor Ahmad Swati was the chief guest on the occasion, where Professor Nasir Ali Syed was in the chair.

Zafar Khan Zafar made the audience laugh by reciting hilarious Pashto haikus, while Shahid Ali Shahid recited a heartrending yet thought-provoking Pashto poem.

Mr Swati said literary activities not only freshened up mind but also widened mental horizons to create ideas and formulate vision.

He said poetry had the unique power to make people laugh and weep at the same time. “Good poetry has its own music and magic carrying a soothing impact on our minds,” he said.

Ms Ayesha Khan, member of the literary society, said the annual event provided students with an opportunity to meet literary figures, who inspired them with their poetic expressions. Sidra and Jalwa, other members of the society, said the event was a great literary treat as every time, students got new ideas and caught up with new ways of literary presentations.

Mr Shahid Ali stole the show by reciting poem ‘spogmai dooba shwa’ (the moon went down) on swara issue.

Principal of Khyber Medical College, Peshawar Dr Ejaz Hassan Khan Khattak said poetry made the people humane and humble and filled them with the wonder of an invisible world, the world of creativity and imaginative flight. Professor Nasir Ali Syed advised medical students to have a literary taste saying patients need not only bitter pills to swallow but also they will need sweet romantic pills to calm down.

He said if laughter could be the best medicine, then humour and satirical poetry had that in abundance.

Noted poets including Professor Hassam Hur, Bushra Farrukh, Mushtaq Shabab, Aziz Ejaz, Professor Abaseen Yousafzai, Khalid Khan Khalil, Chiragh Afridi, Khalid Latif Kaif and Akhtar Hussain Nangyal participated in the event.

Ihtisham Qayyum, fourth year student of KMC, played rabab tunes to the delight of the audience. Later, the chief guest away prizes to the winners of Urdu and English declamation contest, photography competition, and painting contest.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2014