KARACHI, Sept 11: Writer, poet and comedian Athar Shah Khan was the chief guest at an event arranged by the Farobal Academy, a literary and cultural body in the city, on Friday.

A large assembly of Mr Khan's admirers and friends on the occasion greeted him with flowers, while eminent writers, broadcasters and actors spoke on the merits of Mr Khan's versatile talents and his loving personality.

Presided over by Dr Mohammad Ali Siddiqui, the speakers included Talat Hussain, Anwer Maqsood, Moin Akhtar, Kamal Ahmed Rizvi, Ayaz Khan, Moin Qureshi, Azim Server and Hussain Majroh, a poet and essayist who had come all the way from Lahore to read an article about his longtime friend Athar Shah Khan. Poets Rafiuddin Raaz and Sajid Ali Sajid paid complements in verse. Sarohan Siddiqui admired Mr Khan for his satirical and serious poetry.

Mr Khan started his career as a writer some five decades back from the Radio Pakistan and wrote around 700 plays during twenty years; 'Jedi ke sang' being his hit serial. A multifaceted person as he was, Talaat Hussain observed that he was best in his writings and of course not in acting. Jedi, a comic character he introduced, was a commendable satire on our society, which ridiculed him as an orphaned, uneducated boy, while he wanted nothing else but respect.

It was, however, tragic that Jedi in his popularity surpassed its creator and eclipsed most of Mr Khan's talents as a promising short story writer, a serious poet and a master satirist. But Mr Khan was duly compensated when Dr Siddiqui said that Jedi was the best character in Urdu literature after Raten Nath Sarshar's Khoji.

Qasim Jalali, General Manager, Karachi TV, recalled his association with Mr Khan since their college days, and both were trying to establish the tradition of theatre in the city. Mr Jalali presented a souvenir to Mr Khan, a brochure published in 1962, carrying their names in stage plays. Dr Siddiqui, in this context, remembered the Alliad Theatre, born out of the popular Parsi theatre in the 50s.

Mr Jalali further said that writing for electronic media was a very difficult task, which Mr Khan did successfully. Mr Khan was certainly the best in the trade, he added.

Mr Khan, who had recently recovered from a serious ailment, in his speech delivered a piece of dialogue from 'Jedi'. He said, he had not done much as yet, and was determined to do his best in coming days. Seemingly, he was looking in good health.

Idris Siddiqui, administrator of the academy welcomed the guests, while writer Jazib Qureshi spoke briefly about Mr Khan, and praised him for his contribution to culture and literature.

Ms Rukhsana Saba and Ms Huma Mir conducted the event.