KARACHI, Dec 12: Speakers at a memorial meeting about Mehshar Badayuni on Sunday at the Arts Council underlined the need for tracing the anthology of poems that he had compiled in his lifetime and handed over to a publisher.

Well-known poet Sahar Ansari said it was a pity that while many couplets of Farooq Ahmad Mehshar Badayuni were so popular that people knew them by heart his collections of poetry were not readily available. He recalled that Mehshar had compiled a kuliyaat in his lifetime which he had given to a publisher.

A representative of the Arts Council’s press and publications committee said the if the manuscript of the anthology was found, the committee would publish it as part of a series in which the unpublished works of great men of letters were being published.

Sindh minister for planning and development Shoaib Bokhari promised that he would do what he could to get the anthology published.

Mr Ansari said Mehshar was a veteran poet familiar with the works of classical poets and yet determined to express himself in a fresh manner, carrying out some experiments with ghazal.

Prof Dr Aslam Farrukhi congratulated the organizers on holding a memorial meeting about Mehshar who hailed from Badayun. “Nevertheless, they should also hold memorial meetings about arguably the greatest man of letters from Badayun Hasan Sijzi. Shibli was extremely enamoured of his poetry. It is about time you told the young generation about the glorious sons of Badayun,” he observed.

Critic Jamil Jalibi said Mehshar was humility personified. “I had learnt about him a long time ago but I met him through Ghulam Abbas who was editor of Ahung which was a magazine of Radio Pakistan.”

He added that at a Mushaira at the Dow Medical College in 1956 Mehshar’s poem Taj Mahal was particularly well received. “He recited the poem in a very soulful manner. He was a popular Mushaira poet. As a matter of fact, he used to come to Mushairas well dressed and well prepared. His sonorous voice was added advantage,” he reminisced.

Prof Akhlaq Akhtar Hamidi and Dr Nayyar Aziz Masoodi also spoke.