KARACHI: A condolence reference was held on Monday at the Arts Council for the former commissioner of Karachi and president of Arts Council, M.M. Usmani, who died on Sept 24.

Former governor of Sindh Kamal Azfar said Mr Usmani was known for his sharafat. He never spoke loudly with anyone. Today Karachi lacks individuals such as Mr Usmani. Mr Azfar argued that the city now has a structural flaw. The best way to pay tribute to the late commissioner is to bring the city under one umbrella [of administration].

Minoo Marker said he met Mr Usmani in the 1980s through a mutual friend Roedad Khan. Despite his position he never gave a sense of importance. He always had a modest demeanour and a wide variety of interests in people. His house was always filled with gentle laughter. He was a listener, not a talker. He used to say to him [Marker], “Karachi seems to belong to everybody, and nobody.”

Ameena Saiyid recalled the time when she was immersed in the process of publishing textbooks and used to visit Islamabad for the purpose, but often found the doors shut on her. It made her frustrated until she met Mr Usmani who had taken over as the federal secretary for education. She presented her plans to him. He listened to her and understood what she wanted. He had sincerity and a desire for the betterment of children going to public schools in Pakistan. Unfortunately, before he could implement his programme he retired. Had he not retired the standard of education in Pakistan would have been higher. “He raised the bar for the civil service … He was a renaissance man,” she added.

Shafiqur Rehman Paracha said once Z.A. Bhutto went to Thatta where he was warmly greeted. He asked the people what they wanted. They replied: Agha Shahi. [Mr Shahi had been the deputy commissioner there.] “Good commissioners and deputy commissioners have eras (ahd), whereas the bad ones have periods of posting. Mr Usmani had an era,” he remarked.

Syed Sardar Ahmed said Mr Usmani never showed anger towards anyone. Highlighting the late commissioner’s ability of nurturing and caring for the artist community and comparing it to the contemporary situation, he raised the question as to why there’s no poet like Faiz or Josh today. He urged that things will only change for the better if the intellectual minority comes forward.

Talat Husain said Mr Usmani was kind to him. He was a soft-spoken person. Mr Husain also talked about the time when Mr Usmani sought his opinion on the construction of the theatre at the council when it was being built.

Anjum Ayaz said he first got to know Mr Usmani at the funeral of artist Ahmed Pervez. It was a time when Pakistani society had creative individuals such as Faiz, Josh, Sadequain, etc. Mr Usmani used to keep the artists close to him. Mr Ayaz then spoke about a Unesco project that the commissioner was able to get for the local artists.

The late commissioner’s daughter Maheen Usmani said her father was an honest man. He loved Karachi with all his heart. Not a single sectarian incident took place [in the city] when he was its commissioner. He had friends from all sides of the political divide. He was also ahead of his time, a feminist, a gentleman to the core.

Since Oct 14 was Mr Usmani’s birthday a cake was also cut to celebrate his life.

Iftikhar Shallwani, Chitra Pritam, Imran Afsar, Imran Shirvanee, Sobia Naqsh, Cezanne Naqsh (whose message was read out by Maheen), Syed Salim Abbas Jilani and Ahmed Shah also spoke.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2019