KARACHI: To celebrate the country’s 76th Independence Day, the Arts Council of Pakistan organised a two-day Azadi Festival, which concluded on Sunday night, with a concert made memorable by renowned vocalists and the playing and singing of the national anthem by all present in the council’s Jaun Elia lawn.

The marked feature of Saturday was an international mushaira presided over by eminent poet Anwar Shaoor and moderated by Ambreen Hasib Amber. More than two dozen versifiers from Karachi and the rest of Pakistan — such as Iqbal Pirzada, A H Khanzada, Abbas Tabish and Hameed Shaheen – were on stage; while some poets living in other parts of the world — such as Ashfaq Husain and Ghazanfar Hashmi — joined online.

The first verse-wielder who garnered the most applause was Kashif Hussain Ghayr. His following couplet was among the many that he recited:

Saron per saya-i-parcham rahey ga

Abad tak ab yehi mausam rahey ga

[The national flag will keep its blessings on us

This is the atmosphere which will remain till the end of time]

Anwar Shaoor began his stint on stage with the two lines:

Dunya mein is watan ka bhala kya jawab hai

Har zarra maahtaab hai aur aaftaab hai

[There is no country like ours in the world

Whose every speck is the sun and the moon]

The sparse attendance on Saturday was more than made up on Sunday evening when popular singers sang famous patriotic songs in front of a large crowd.

They included, among others, Tufail Sanjrani, Wahab Bugti, Muhammad Zubair and Shabbir Zia. The songs that they presented boasted a wide variety, ranging from the late Alan Faqir’s Itney barey jeevan sagar mein to Junoon’s Hai jazba junoon.

Addressing the audience on the occasion, Arts Council president Ahmed Shah urged everyone to remain united.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2023