LAHORE: Mast Tawakali, the Sufi poet of Balochistan, was committed to the poor people and at times sided with them against the tyrannical feudal order.

The contemporary of Khwaja Farid and Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, Tawakali wrote resistance poetry against the colonialists, when the sardars of Balochistan kowtowed to their British masters, said Fakhar Zaman at the Mast Tawakali conference on Tuesday.

It was organised by the Pakistan Academy of Letters, Idaara Fikr-o-Khiyal, International Writers Forum and World Punjabi Congress (WPC).

Zaman, WPC chairman, said Tawakali’s poetry carried a message of peace, love, tolerance and brotherhood and became so popular that wherever he went, people thronged to see a glimpse of him. Even the Balochi sardars and feudal, very oppressive and despotic otherwise, had a soft corner for this wandering poet.

Dr Imrana Mushtaq related some interesting incidents of the life of Mast Tawakali and exhorted the Punjab government that Sufi poets of other federating units should be introduced in this province.

Poet Raja Nayyar said that Tawakali lived his whole life in search of truth, beauty and love. He lamented that in Punjab province, Punjabi is meted out step-motherly treatment.

Scholar Rashid Misbah described Mast Tawakali as a secular poet who shunned obscurantism. Tawalkali’s similies and metaphors were derived from the nature of the beautiful but ignored province of Balochistan.

He also deplored that Punjabis do not honour their Sufi heritage as is done by other provinces.'

Published in Dawn, October 7th , 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play