PESHAWAR: The Lahore-based publication house Mavra Books’ rare collection of selected Urdu poems of top 62 poets scaled new heights in the literary circles.

The title has recently hit bookstands in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The book titled ‘Urdu kee Shahkaar Nazmein’ (masterpiece Urdu poems) though was published in 2010, it found a favourable market these days owing to taste brewing among Pakhtun readers. Most poems are an all-time favourite with poetry lovers.

The selected poems advocate practical steps for a change in the society and voice end to oppression, injustice and stress on protection to rights of marginalised segments to pave way for a progressive society.

The poems inspire a vision towards tolerance, peace and freedom of speech.

Top Urdu poets from Ahmed Nadim Qasmi to Wasi Shah have their entries in the book. Faiz Ahmed Faiz and NM Rashid have four entries each while Amjad Islam Amjad, Parveen Shakir, Sahir Ludhianvi and Mohsin Naqvi are represented by three each poems.

“Urdu books do not have an encouraging market in Peshawar as habit of reading has gone down over the years, but I get attracted sometime by selected collections of Urdu poetry, fiction books or prose titles especially travelogues,” Nazish Khan , a student of Urdu Department , University of Peshawar, told Dawn.

She regretted that book culture was not encouraged at any level, adding that even teachers had no taste for reading books. She suggested that young people should at least read top Urdu poets to know their commitment to the cause of social change.

Similarly, two poems each by Akhtar Sherani, Ibne Insha, Iftikhar Arif, Josh Malihabadi, Habib Jalib, Saifuddin Saif, Fahmeeda Riaz, Majeed Amjad and Mustafa Zaidi have been included. Ahmed Faraz, Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Hafeez Jalandhari, Qateel Shifai, Allama Iqbal, Majaz Lukhnavi, Munir Niazi, Salim Kausar, Kaifi Azmi , Jaun Elia and Nazeer Akbarabadi are sufficient to say one each masterpiece.

These Urdu poets represent different schools of thought, but they want to say something new and different to cause a change in the society. The shift in their thought is distinct and clear while diction is fluent to impact readers with their creative vision.

The top Urdu poets used poetry is a strong tool to bring about a positive change in the minds of people without caring for the consequences their words would bring to them. Most of these poets could best be defined as ‘revolutionaries’ and rebels because of their radical views.

Genuineness, commitment and deep sense of social justice, however, kept them alive in the hearts of many people around. Their words, therefore, became eyes of the history through which people could see and judge for themselves whether or not these poets’ vision was correct or incorrect in their favour. That their thoughts could not be restricted and would continue to proliferate despite censorship, sanction or ban. That true poetry serves people and becomes their voice in the time of distress, social injustice and suppression of weak and poor.

The poem of Ahmed Faraz ‘muhasara’ (besiege) ends with two couplets ‘I strongly believe that one day, someone would raze down this wall of oppression around us, I may be there or not.’ ‘I swear on the unfortunate times of my whole life that the journey of my pen will never go waste.’

The inspiring poem by Sahir Ludhianvi ‘Taj Mahal’ is a beautiful expression of deprived feelings. It says that a ‘love of poor’ person is never adored. All the 175 poems spanned over 176 pages highlight different issues of our society. Printed at Sharkat Press, Lahore, Khalid Sharif has done a commendable job by compiling masterpiece literary works of top Urdu poets.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2015

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