PESHAWAR, April 20: Poets at a Pushto Mushaira focussing on humour and satire enthralled students at the Convocation Hall of the University of Peshawar late Monday night.

The event, organized by the university's literary club, attracted a large audience that was enlivened at almost every stanza and couplet recited on the occasion. Poets from every nook and corner of the province read their latest poetical selections to a jam-packed hall.

Students - girls and boys alike - and teachers cheered up and let loose a barrage of witty hooting making up for the dearth of stuff to cheer them up at the campus, complimenting the organizers of the event, which was no small feat in itself. And the credit goes to Prof Abaseen Yousafzay, the moving spirit behind the mushaira and the patron of nine of the campus' societies.

Poets, many of whom presented their funniest pieces, never crossed the limits of decency in front of a sizable women audience, which showcased the dazzling Pakhtun culture, in which womenfolk is held in high esteem.

An event was planned to herald the spring festival, then it was to be dedicated to the living memory of late Sufi poet Rehman Baba, but in the end it turned out be an event showering laughter all around.

To begin with, Prof Mohammad Taha Khan recited the Urdu version of Rehman Baba's poetry, drawing a good response from a responsive and appreciative audience. The later half of the mushaira saw the best poets delivering their best pieces in front of an rapt and discriminating lot.

Prominent among poets, who graced the occasion, included Ikramullah Gran, Iqbal Shakir, Mohammad Zubair Hasrat, Sartaj Khushal, Aseer Mangal, Prof Meraj, Mian Zahid, Pareshan Daudzai, Aziz Manerwal, Humayun Hamdard, Aamir Gumryanai, Momoon Rashid and Ghazi Sial.

But the star poet, Hussain Ahmad Sadiq, was the pick of the night, who held the audience in stitches. His performance would keep echoing on the campus at least for a few months if not years. His pieces - be they humorous or serious - were outstanding.

First, Sadiq chose funny hikos causing the entire hall to burst into laughter. His delivery of couplets enlivened the occasion. He set the ball rolling for comedy poems. He was closely followed by Zafar Khan Zafar, another simple-looking comic poet, whose hikos forced the audience to shout "Encore", but he refused to repeat his verses.