HYDERABAD: A galaxy of her friends, colleagues and admirers paid glowing tributes to Mahtab Akbar Rashdi — a TV host par excellence of her era, a politician and human rights campaigner — at a nicely arranged select gathering held under the aegis of the Besant Hall Culture Centre on Saturday night.

They gathered in the 120-year-old heritage site, Besant Hall — named after Dr Annie Besant — to celebrate ‘an evening with Mahtab Akbar Rashdi’.

The hall was built by The Theosophical Society in 1901 and has been renovated recently. It was conserved by the Endowment Fund Trust (EFT) in 2021 and converted to Besant Hall Cultural Centre.

Oldies and goldies of Pakistani film and television like Mustafa Qureshi and Khushbakht Shuja’at, who have shone on PTV screen since its inception, spoke fondly of Mahtab.

Moneeza Hashmi, daughter of celebrated Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and Sultana Siddiqui, a media mogul, television director/producer and Mahtab’s childhood friend, Ghulam Nabi Morai, a media house owner, prof Shabnam Gul, Dr Arfana Malllah and EFT secretary Hamid Akhund spoke high of Ms Rashdi at a candid discussion nicely hosted by Dr Sahar Gul Bhatti.

Mr Akhund said EFT conserved Besant Hall to benefit people in cultural sense. EFT plans to set up a disaster management cell under its umbrella in the wake of catastrophic floods that spelt disaster in Sindh. “We hope stakeholders will join us to see what can be done after assessing actual extent of damage,” he said while smilingly sidestepping criticism why EFT was hosting this event.

“Mahtab understands pulse of masses,” said Moneeza Hashmi as she started to explain how she developed a bonding with her. “I and Mahtab were going to Ghotki for training of girls when I noticed how men like one loader at airport, driver and gunman of police mobile touched her feet respectfully. It made me realise how well-connected she is with people at grass-root level,” said Moneeza.

“I wished there are such men and women in larger number to talk about country, women’s empowerment and parity,” she remarked, and said “Faiz Mela” was incomplete sans Mahtab because she moderates political session where representatives from various political parties talk about Pakistan despite varying political narratives. “I.A. Rahman approved her name saying Mahtab has potential to conduct political sessions adroitly,” she said.

Sultana Siddiqui recalled how she and Mahtab lived in same Gari Khata mohalla, studied in same school and college. “Mahbtab has been outspoken and we had always been on same wavelength,” she said. She worked like a woman possessed and being daughter of a schoolteacher Mahtab became a name to reckon with.

“I co-hosted Roshan Tara and Feroza with her and remember how at a gathering, Mahtabi sham, in Zia regime, when asked to name her hero, she said naming that hero is considered crime,” said Ms Siddiqui, alluding to Z. A. Bhutto. She told Dr Sahar Bhatti that Mahtab never minced words in her expression or cared for consequences.

Mahtab’s senior colleague, Mustafa Qureshi, couldn’t help expressing trauma he had been going through after death of his wife and singer, Rubina Qureshi, also a friend of Mahtab. Sahar asked him to explain how he introduced a child artist and teenaged Mahtab in a Radio Pakistan drama in Hyderabad, prompting Qureshi to dwell at length. He described how she performed as a dancer in the drama, Mohenjo Daro ji akhri raat.

In the backdrop of Mahtab’s huge smiling photo in the prime of her youth, Qureshi poetically compared Mahtab with the moon, saying latter “borrows light but this moon [Mahtab] on the earth has been blessed with her own light of knowledge and literature; and this moon can’t be darkened though thousands of clouds tried to darken her”.

“She used to come to rehearsal of radio drama but always remained silent though offering smile. We never knew about the treasure of knowledge that lies behind this smile,” he said as he eulogized her. He mentioned how her refusal to wear dupatta under Zia’s directive for PTV presenters became a symbol of resistance and how artists in Lahore were influenced by her courage demonstrated against dictatorial edict.

Mahtab’s contemporary and close friend, Khushbakht Shuja’at said many would find it interesting, although she and Mahtab dominated PTV’s landscape, that the element of professional jealousy never came across them. “We lauded each other. It was a golden era marked by beauty bonhomie between us,” she said. Mahtab has a diversified personality. She always expresses things loud and clear or put them in black and white. Mahtab has never been “neutral”, she said in a lighter vein, and thanked her for inviting her to this beautiful gathering away from all negativity in society and media’s hype.

Dr Arfana Mallah was glad to mention that Mahtab Channa, before her wedding, had excelled in her filed despite all cultural and gender stereotypes. “If a woman is pretty and is intelligent too, then she faces hurdles while working but Mahtab crossed all barriers courageously,” she said, and added that she faced graffiti on Sindh University’s walls when she was part of mainstream media from Sindh. “A point admires me most is that stigmatisation and acrimony society gave to Mahtab was never reflected in her attitude,” she quipped, and said arrogance never became part of her personality in 70 years journey.

Mahtab Akbar Rashdi recalled how Fatima Surayya Bajia praised her for speaking correct Urdu despite having a Sindhi community background and even surpassing those from Lucknow who took pride in their high quality Urdu language. She thanked Radio Pakistan for instilling capability in her to know ups and downs of language.

Overwhelmed with emotions, she ascribed her success in life to her parents and her husband who gave her confidence. “Despite coming from Syed family, Akbar didn’t ask me to confine to home,” she said, adding that society needed positive approach.

“This evening is an asset for me and although I settled in Karachi, Hyderabad is close to my heart,” she said. Her spouse, Akbar Rashdi, also spoke.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2022