LARKANA: The 60th death anniversary of seasoned poet Nawaz Ali Niaz Jaffery was commemorated under the aegis of Sachal Adabi Markaz here on Friday evening. It was presided over by eminent short story writer and former DIG Akhtar Janwari.

In his presidential address Janwari said that Larkana had experienced a magnificent past and present in the realm of literature bustling with literary activities. During the era of 40s and 50s Jamiat-ul-Shuara Sindh convened a total of 21 literary conferences of which 10 were held in Larkana. Even the first-ever conference was convened here.

Niaz Jaffery was a leading poet and a prominent literary figure of those days, he said. “It’s true that Nawaz Ali Niaz Jaffery’s Sindhi poetry and language is influenced by Persian as well because in those days when there was British rule in the subcontinent Persian language was common and people knew it very well and even studied it,” he said, adding that “his poetry, however, is up to the mark and has very strong appeal”.

Janwari noted that Niaz Jaffery was also an accomplished teacher in his early days and had a credit of being the teacher of another renowned scholar, Dr Mohammad bin Umar Daudpoto, at Madressah School, Larkana.

Ahmed Sultan Khoso, a poet and Larkana Additional Commissioner-I, described Niaz Jaffery’s poetry as multidimensional that encompassed a variety of issues of society to ponder over. Ghazal has been his favourite genre and he has composed a divan of ghazals as well. His poetry is full of rhythm and musical traits.

Prof Mukhtiar Sammo, a writer and founder of the Knowledge Centre, Larkana, said that Jaffery’s poetry reflected his personality which was of dynamic nature. He did not believe in status quo, so he kept on working and writing to see a change in the social conditions and make them congenial for peaceful living. His poetry has a strong reformative aspect through which he pinpointed the wrongs, injustices and other things and emphasizing upon correcting them. The composition of his poetry in all genres is par excellence, according to Prof Sammo.

Dr Riazat Buriro, who works on comparative dictionaries compiled in Sindhi language, said that there was a need for study and analysis of the language found in Jaffery’s poetry. “The language in his poetic works spanning over the pre-partition and post-partition period has a special vocabulary which needs to be properly understood and explained”. Jaffery set his own style and diction which became his introduction, said Dr Buriro.

Dr Ahsan Danish, who has done his doctorate in Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai’s poetry, said that Nawaz Ali Niaz Jaffery was not only a single individual but he was like an institution. Though he composed his poetry in a traditional manner which was in line with the requirements of those days, he had a tint of newness in his poetry which reflected modernism as well.

Eminent poet Jawad Jaffery, a grandson of Nawaz Ali Niaz Jaffery, said his grandfather did not only himself contribute to Sindhi poetry, but also produced many poets, some of whom shot to fame. He said a lot of Niaz Jaffery’s poetry still needed to be compiled in the shape of a book. He said Niaz Jaffery’s divan was still waiting for some publisher.

The others who spoke at the gathering included Aziz Qasmani, Rizwan Gul, Aziz Mangi, Essa Memon (former secretary of the Sindhi Adabi Sangat, Larkana chapter), Sajjad Jaffery, Saleem Imtiaz Jaffery and Khawar Qaboolai.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2020