KARACHI: Noted poet Ahmad Faraz was the guest of the evening at Sindh Club on Tuesday. From New Delhi back to Islamabad it was the poet’s brief stopover in Karachi. A number of poets and writers, including of course Mushtaq Ahmad Yusfi and members of the club enjoyed Faraz’s company and hear him recite some fresh ghazals.

Mr Hussain Haroon briefly introduced Faraz enumerating the titles and awards — Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Iqbal Award, Kamal-i-Fun Award and a doctorate degree by the University of Karachi — Ahmad Faraz, chairman National Book Foundation, won during five decades of his meritorious career as a poet. Three PHDs have been done on the poetry of Faraz who joined Peshawar University as a lecturer in mid-60s. His poetry has been translated into English, Russian, Chinese, French and Hindi languages.

Ahmad Faraz in his short discourse said: “When one comes to know the readers have begun to like him and his message of love has reached to the masses, the title and awards become irrelevant. The creative work, he said, demanded from the poets and artists, their life-blood (Khoon-i-Jigar) and nothing less.

Faraz said that the Indian people wanted peace and harmony with the people of Pakistan. We poets and writers always strive to create an atmosphere of love and goodwill, but all our efforts fail to materialise when a gust of hatred and acrimony sweeps everything away.

Earlier, Mr Yusuf Jamal, known for his studies in the poetry of Josh and Faiz, introduced Ahmad Faraz recalling his association with the poet from 1967-68, when Faraz had come to participate in a mushaira in Larkana. He had many interesting memories to recall, including a tussle between Maulana Kauser Niazi, information minister in the year 1972, and Maulana Mufti Mahmood, a former chief minister of the NWFP.

Faraz said, he as a government functionary had to work hard in keeping a balance between the two — the Maulana and the Mufti — as he composed the following couplet:

Idher Mahmood Mufti hae, Udher Kauser Niazi hae

Aur in do dehryoon ke darmian Ahmad Farazi hae

Ahmad Faraz read out a verse very popular both in Pakistan and India — Mohasra — composed as a challenge to Ziaul Haq’s fascist regime. Those present were found very keen to listen it and also a ghazal-i-musalsal:

Suna hae log usay aankh bhar ke dekhtay haen

So us kay shahr mein ham bhi thaher ke dekhtay haen

The following couplets were also much admired

Is say pehlay ke bewafa ho jaen

Kya karen log jab khuda ho jaen —H.A