PESHAWAR: Pashto poets from parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa captivated university students at an annual mushaira with their inspiring poems.

The grand poetry recitation session was arranged under the auspices of Peshawar University Teachers Association (Puta) here the other day at its main hall. A large number of students, teachers and poetry lovers attended the event.

Around 20 poets recited their poems at the event.

Writers advise students to prepare themselves for upcoming challenges

Most poets advocated peace, patriotism, universal values and mutual respect. Some poets satirised the political leaders yet others targeted the outdated social norms and some even touched upon the current geopolitical situation being developed in the region.

They advised the students to prepare themselves for upcoming challenges and asked them to focus on their studies.

Opening the event, the acting vice-chancellor of University of Peshawar, Dr Johar Ali said that Puta should be credited for conducting such healthy activities for the students on the campus. It would instill a new spirit among them for crafting creative images because poets always gave a ray of hope and encouragement, he added.

Dr Fazle Nasar, chief of Puta in his remarks, said that his organisation had been arranging different social, cultural and literary events for grooming of the students with an objective to let them know the significance of literature and literati. He said that among all such activities, poetry recitation sessions had been the most favourite with university students.

Dr Roshan Kalim said on the occasion said that it was a good omen that girl students were taking interest in cultural and literary events alongside their male counterparts. It would improve study environment on the campus, she added.

Anwar Khan Marwat, a senior Pashto poet, stole the show by reciting an inspiring poem that fetched him rounds of applause from the tasteful audience.

Shazia Junaid Khattak, a student of peace and conflict studies department, said that she and her classmates not only enjoyed the mushaira but also learnt much from the senior poets.

Senior progressive poet Rahmat Shah Sail, who was chief guest on the occasion, said that poets and writers should be given due respect in the society as their role was significant when it came to a substantive change and in instilling a spirit for bringing out their talent with confidence.

Noted poets including Aziz Manirwal, Prof Aseer Mangal, Prof Sher Zaman Seemab, Afsar Afghan and Rashid Khan recited their poetic pieces and received appreciation from the participants.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2019