PESHAWAR: Speakers at a literary function held here on Monday showered accolades on the celebrated Urdu poet, Josh Malihabadi.

The Pakistan Women Writers Forum (PWWF) and Anjuman-i-Taraqi Pasand Musanifeen jointly conducted a literary reference to pay tribute to eminent progressive Urdu poet, Shabbir Hasan Khan alias Josh Malihabadi at the Iranian cultural centre. They said Josh was master of imagery and had carved out perfect images to paint a real picture of the society.

Scholars presented papers while poets paid their poetic tribute to highlight various features of the life and literary services of the revolutionary Urdu poet. A large number of young poets, students and fans of Josh attended the function.

Four young girl students -- Sidra Ameen, Naleem Afridi, Sabawoonzeb and Hira -- read out their Urdu, Pashto and English poems to remember Josh as a revolutionary voice. They said Josh had launched his poetic career at the tender age of nine. “Josh had versified his heart and mind to mould the society as he had dreamt as young man,” the young bards recited.

Speakers in their papers said that Josh was a true voice of the downtrodden who had stood for social justice and equal distribution of wealth. Senior Karachi-based poet Rahat Saeed while addressing as chief guest said that Josh had impacted a host of generations of poets and writers not only Urdu but also of other languages.

Mr Saeed said Josh was an epoch making personality who had introduced a new thought with a new vision to give a message of humanism and peace. He said, being a restless soul, Josh had written for a purpose and had devoted his entire life to bring about a social change. “His lofty thoughts and creative disposition did impact literati and created a stir because he was a strong voice of poor people,” he observed.

Kulsoomzeb, chief of Pakistan Women Writers Forum said that Josh had a progressive thought and had contributed to free thinking in addition to trends promoting and raising voice for rights for his people. She said Josh was bold and blunt in his expression. She said he had suffered many hardships in his life.

Professor Owais Qarni in his paper pointed out that Josh had drawn inspiration from world revolutions and wars and this had made him think about his own land and people.

He said change, revolution and progressivism were hallmarks of Josh’s poetry. He said Josh was a poet of purpose and had successfully conveyed his message to masses.

Fanoos Gujar, chief of Mazdoor Kisan Party (MKP), on the occasion said that Josh had promoted humanism in his prose and poetry. He said such poets had always contributed to peaceful human society. He said Josh had fought a mentality and had won war against his opponent through his powerful pen.

Professor Aslam Taseer Afridi shed light on the family background of Josh Malihabadi and traced back his family tree to his own Afridi Pashtun tribe. He said Josh’s forefathers had been living around Peshawar till early 16th century and then migrated to India due to tribal enmity. “I had met Josh in Islamabad in 1986 when I was student at Quaid-i-Azam University. We belong to the same Afridi tribe. Our grandparents had told us that Josh’s forefathers were respectable tribal elders and enjoyed great respect among their clan,” Mr Afridi narrated.

Germany-based writer, Bushra Jamal, Sarwat Zihra, Rahmat Shah Sail, Gauhar Khattak, Shahab Khattak, Said Wali Khial Momand, resident director of Pakistan Academy of Letters, Peshawar chapter, Professor Nasir Ali Syed, and Gul Islam Saifi also spoke at the event.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2017