SHANGLA: Pashto poets celebrated the arrival of the spring season by reciting verses during a poetry session in Bisham area here on Tuesday.

The event was organised by the Hafiz-i-Alpuri Adabi Tolana in collaboration with the provincial directorate of culture under the Revival of Indigenous Cultural Heritage (Rich) project.

Alpuri tehsil nazim Mohammad Tahir Khan, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said the local government would support poets in all possible ways.

He announced Rs10,000 for the participating poets.

Around 30 Pashto poets from different parts of the district attended the four hours long poetry session.

Most poets highlighted the importance of peace and cultural values and welcomed the arrival of spring season in their poems.

Poet Aqalzada Aqil said Pakhtuns had a rich culture and civilisation and that they should not adopt ‘alien ways of life’.

He warned if Pakhtuns continued adopting cultural ways of others, they would lose own cultural identity.

The poet regretted that most local poets were stricken by poverty and that the government ignored them in its monthly stipend scheme.

He demanded the poets and other members of the literati be accommodated in the next phase of the scheme.

Another poet, Sher Ali Sher, said the country faced internal and external threats and poets should play due role in addressing them, especially in ensuring lasting peace in the region.

Educationist Shahid Ahmad said poets had always conveyed a strong message to the society. He said poets had ruled the hearts of the people in every era.

The educationist urged young students to give due respect to poets and writers and asked them to attend such gatherings.

Rabnawaz Nawaz, Faqeer Mohammad, Mohammad Ali Shams, Najeebullah Shams, Bilal Asghar, Musa Yousafzai and others recited their poems winning praise of the audience.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2017