HYDERABAD: Eighth edition of Hyderabad Literature Festival got under way at Sindh Museum on Saturday evening amid a lacklustre response from people on the first day. Even Sindh Minister for Culture Syed Sardar Ali Shah did not turn up to inaugurate the even citing ‘unavoidable’ engagements in Karachi.
Director General Culture Munawar Mahesar inaugurated the festival which started with a short documentary Udas lamhey showing brief clips of Zia Mohyeddin, Amjad Islam Amjad, Imdad Hussaini and Juman Darbadar. Students of a private school performed on a song Assan laey Sindh watan aahe followed by speech by Izhar Soomro, HLF’s organiser.
Soomro shed light on how the idea of HLF was materialised with government’s support and said he drew flak for organising a sponsored mela. “Let people criticise us, we are ready for forensic audit,” he declared. This set the tone of the session with participants taking on other Sindh government sponsored festivals like Sufi, Lahooti and Ayaz melo.
Prof Noro Ahmed Jinjhi’s remark “Sindh faces no threat” drew a quick rebuttal from acclaimed PTV host Mahtab Akbar Rashdi. Jinjhi said: “Sindhis are a celebrating people which is reflective from Mohenjo Daro where no symbol of ‘hate’ was discovered. Sindhis have great aesthetic sense as they have come a long way encountering changes and subsequently absorbing them,” he said. People always tended to unite on Sindh’s interests that was why he said “Sindh faces no threat”, he said.
Ms Rashdi told Jinjhi there was threat to Sindhi language from within. “Our children don’t speak Sindhi. People are obsessed with the growing trend that their children must speak English fluently and the trend is getting stronger in Karachi,” she said.
She recalled after 1947’s those who arrived here from India brought their own language. “Our elders started speaking Urdu because in their wisdom they thought it will portray them as modern,” she said. She maintained that threat to Sindhi was from none other than Sindhis themselves.
“If your language has not become language of market it will keep facing threat,” she remarked. She said now Sindhi literature was available online as published content was declining and in this environment Sindhis had to keep their language intact.
She downplayed criticism of the festival being sponsored by the government. “It is taxpayers’ money and ought to be spent for good cause and the government is supposed to organise such activities,” she informed.
Noted writer Madad Ali Sindhi agreed with her that Sindhi children found it difficult to read Sindhi today. Sindh was the only province which celebrates its Sufis, poets and writers. It was G.M. Syed who had started celebrating Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai in the shrine’s courtyard and since then the mystic poet was paid homage on governmental level in addition to acknowledgement by masses, he said.
DG Culture Munawar Mahesar said that the government decided to support such festivals in the backdrop of suicide bombings in Shikarpur’s imambargah and then at Qalandar’s shrine.
Speakers paid tribute to noted poet Jumman Darbadar at a session on the poet. Writer Taj Joyo said that Darbadar came from a humble background and he did not give up his simplicity till he died. He stood tall as far as his ideological position was concerned and he was upright and man of principles.
Speakers discussed Urdu translation of Sheikh Ayaz’s poetry at a session “Sadiyoon ki sadaen” where panellists Noor Ahmed Jinjhi, Dr Ambreen Haseeb and Jehangir Dahiri spoke at length to discuss various aspects of his poetry.
Jinjhi said that languages connected people and Sindhi was the oldest language. Dr Haseeb was of the view “without spreading love, man remained incomplete.”
Azra Jamal said at a session on women’s empowerment that a larger number of women got BISP cards in Sindh and now men forced women to get CNIC issued only to get this financial assistance under BISP. She called for enrolment of women as voters.
The first day witnessed a session on Drama and film. Artist Gul Rana was glad to witness what she said awakening in Sindh.
Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2023