PESHAWAR: The poets and folk singers gathered here on Wednesday with great enthusiasm to welcome the advent of the spring season through their poems, songs and local dances.

They hoped that the flowers of everlasting peace would bloom on the soil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and militancy and terrorism would be uprooted forever.

A medley of humorous poems, old and modern folk musical notes and rhythmic dance steps by groups of youth with waving bunch of hairs to the tunes of tabla, rabab and harmonium kept the charged participants of the event grossed in trance for hours.

The event was held to mark the arrival of the spring season.

The writers and artists said that the author of the script of war theatre on the Pakhtun land would break his pen as words would dissolve in the air before it took shape of the gruesome actions and a new play of peace filled with love, humanism, and pluralism would take the stage where hatred would not be glorified and only fragrance of flowers would be the food for everyone.

Syed Adnan Shah, the chief organiser of the event, said that senior poets and folk artists were invited to welcome the spring season in a novel way.

Families, youth and lovers of poetry and music attended the function.

The event was divided into four different segments.

The first session was given to Pashto poets with poems on serious notes, in the second session poets recited humorous poems while in the third session senior Pashto folk singers sang spring numbers. In the fourth session, young artists performed and garnered a thunderous applause from the audience.

Senior poet Laiqzada Laiq while hosting the show said that in the past, people used to organise different activities to welcome the spring season but later folk poets and singers composed welcoming notes to celebrate the advent of flowering season and also different kinds of local dishes, beverages and sweets would be distributed to reaffirm their belief in living together in perfect peace and harmony.

Prof Noorul Amin Yousafzai said that history of Pakhtuns was drenched in peace, humanism and pluralism as one could trace back its origin in their folk poetry and music.

Senior Pashto poets including Prof Yar Mohammad Maghmoom, Aseer Mangal, Dr Roshan Kalim, Salim Bangash and Sher Wali Orakzai recited poems. Folk singers of the yore days Ahmad Gul, Gulmeena, Moeen Ali, Wagma Bibi and Almas Khan Khalil performed popular notes.

Young artists Sheena Gul, Asfandyar Momand, Ajmal Aziz, Chahat Papu, Tariq Hussain Bacha and Dilraj entertained the audience with sequential music.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2020