KARACHI: In recognition of his services to Urdu poetry, a meeting was held in honour of the noted poet Shabnam Romani at the Arts Council on Friday.

Presided over by Dr Mohammad Ali Siddiqui the meeting was well attended by Shabnam’s admirers.

Shabnam Romani (born 1928) is best known for his two poetry volumes — Tohmat (1999) and Jazeera (1979). Masnavi Sair-i-Karachi was his long poem which was first published in 1958 and re-prints appeared later.

Dr Mohammad Ali Siddiqui, admiring Shabnam’s ghazals said that such a fascinating poetry had not appeared in at least two past decades. He flayed the values of the global market economy which, he said, had no place for human feelings, and love — the very basis of Urdu (and also oriental) poetry. Urdu poetry, he said, had a great social role — to bring people closer.

Dr Siddiqui bitterly criticised so-called abstraction and its critical theories found in Urdu’s creative writings, which, he said, had done much harm to literature and isolated the writers from the readers.

Earlier, a paper was read out by Qaiser Najmi who admirably evaluated the merits of Shabnam’s poetry. Imtiaz Saghar and senior poet Raghib Moradabadi paid their compliments in verses.

Yawer Mehdi, Secretary Arts Council, briefly introduced the guest and welcomed the audience. Naqqash Kazmi did the compering.—HA