KARACHI, June 22: Two institutions working on the poetry, life and times of Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib have agreed to jointly organise a yearly Ghalib conference on a rotational basis in Pakistan and India. The first such conference is scheduled to be held in Karachi in August.

“Bazm-i-Ghalib Pakistan and the Ghalib Institute, New Delhi, signed an agreement on May 29 in Delhi in which we agreed to celebrate Jashn-i-Ghalib every year in Pakistan and India on a rotational basis,” Tanveer Kazmi, secretary of Bazm-i-Ghalib Pakistan, said at a press conference held at the Hotel Mehran’s Gosha-i-Ghalib here on Friday.

According to him, the two institutions decided to hold the first three-day conference in Karachi on August 2, 3 and 4.

“A joint Indo-Pakistan Ghalib Award will be conferred upon an outstanding researcher on Ghalib. The award will go to an Indian researcher when the conference is held in Pakistan and to a Pakistani when it is held in India,” said Mr Kazmi.

According to him, renowned ghazal singer Jagjit Singh has agreed to sing Ghalib’s ghazals on the opening day of the conference on August 2.

“Jagjit said Ghalib is a shared asset of the two countries and agreed to sing at the Karachi conference,” said Mr Kazmi.

He said a dire need was felt to acquaint young minds with the greatness and poetic prowess of Ghalib, for which purpose the organisers had dedicated the second day of the conference.

“We have decided to spare a full day of debate among the school and college students on Ghalib’s life, times and art,” he said.

On the third day, a seminar will be held in which researchers will enlighten the participants about new dimensions and findings concerning the poet and his era.

The conference will conclude with a mango party, considering the fact that it was the poet’s favourite fruit.

Professor Sahar Ansari said the holding of the conference jointly by the two countries would cause a healthy impact on the literary scene of India and Pakistan and would help bring the literati and people of both nations closer.

He said five Ghalib experts would attend the Karachi conference from India, while a similar number of researchers would be invited from various parts of Pakistan. Besides, experts from elsewhere in the world were also expected to attend the conference, he said.

He said Bazm-i-Ghalib was also making efforts to establish an Aiwan-i-Ghalib in Karachi, for which different institutions in India had donated hundreds of books to the representatives of Bazm-i-Ghalib during their visit to Delhi last month.

Mr Kazmi asked the government to rename a thoroughfare like University Road after Mirza Ghalib and Hasan Square roundabout as Ghalib roundabout.