KARACHI: Friends and colleagues paid heartfelt tribute to seasoned playwrighter Hasina Moin at an event organised to acknowledge her services to show business at the Arts Council Karachi on Tuesday.

Writer Fatima Surayya Bajia, who presided over the programme, said the credit for Hasina Moin’s civilised and elegant writing went to PTV as the institution taught those who were associated with it how to act and behave keeping one’s traditions in mind.

She said Hasina Moin herself was aware of this very important fact which was why even when she made the audiences laugh with her script, she (her characters) never behaved in a crass manner.

Hasina Moin, who was greeted with a standing ovation when she came to the podium, delivered a refined speech tinged with subtle satire.

She started off by thanking all those who had spoken for her before her stint at the microphone and felt amazed that they said such good things about her. She pointed out that usually people said nice things about others when they died. She argued though words could not fully express one’s feelings, she could see herself in the kind words that speakers had said about her.

Hasina told the audience, who had turned up in a decent number, that the past few years had been difficult for her, but with her well-wishers on her side even that tough phase in her life had passed. “When life calls you, you move fast. I want my pen to work as fast now,” she said.

The writer expressed the desire to write on subjects that could bring about a positive change in society. She said she did not know whether her 40 years of hard work had met with success; what she knew was that she knocked on doors some of which did open and her voice was heard.

Hasina said she had often been accused of creating a fantasy world. She claimed life was beautiful and she had always tried to show the beautiful aspects of life through her writings. She told the audience she had never written about negative characters; in fact she had not seen any negative people around her. If there were any, she ignored them.

She praised her family, her parents, her siblings and their children for being supportive of her and for always loving her. She commented that the number of her friends equalled the amount of the country’s money lying in Swiss banks; and her friends were not frozen, they were cheerful people.

Hasina also fondly remembered those who had helped her in her career and had passed away (Mohsin Ali, Shireen Azeem, Zaman Ali Khan and Farkhanda).

TV producer and director Sahira Kazmi said it was her honour and privilege that she had worked with Hasina Moin.

She said she and the writer had two things in common: they shared a good sense of humour and were both cowards at heart. Highlighting Hasina Moin’s finer points as a writer, she said be it her serious plays or the ones written in lighter vein, they looked and sounded natural and real. Another feature of her writings was that she showed no difference between men and women. She said that since she and the writer had become good friends, it helped them in making quality plays.

Actor Sajid Hasan said it was because of  Sahira Kazmi and Hasina Moin that he entered the world of show business. He said the writer had her distinct style, and likened it to cricketer Vivien Richards whose stroke-making had an individual stamp on it.Probably the most moving part of the event was witnessed when Hasina Moin’s sister Ghazala Qadri was asked to say a few words.

Ghazala Qadri told the audience that when their mother was bedridden Hasina took very good care of her. She then requested all members of the family who had come to the event to give a standing ovation to her sister. The family stood up and clapped for the writer.

Farhad Zaidi, Qudsia Akbar, Sakina Samu, Raju Jamil, Azhar Abbas Hashmi, Salman Alvi, Khursheed Hyder, Iqbal Ansari, Munawwar Saeed, Misbah Khalid, Ali Rizvi, Rana Sheikh and Faisal Sabzwari also spoke.

The programme was conducted by Iqbal Latif.