LAHORE: A thought-provoking and informative talk on celebrated poet Ahmad Faraz was held at Alhamra Art Centre, The Mall, on Tuesday.

Playwright and educationist Asghar Nadeem Syed was the speaker who threw light on various aspects of Faraz’s life and works. This series of talks on different literary figures from Urdu literature has been launched by the Lahore Arts Council to pay rich tributes to different literary personalities. However, the attendance at the sitting on Tuesday was thin and Alhamra needed to attract an audience.

Throwing light on Faraz, Mr Syed said Faraz was a popular poet who left a deep impact on generations. “He was more popular among the youth, that’s why critics labeled him a poet of teenagers. But it was totally a wrong impression as Faraz’s poetry had a great depth because he was guided by great poets like Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi.”

Syed said during Faraz’s time, the Progressive Writers Movement had made its way and he was fortunate enough that he got popular right from the beginning of his poetical journey among the progressive writers and poets.

“When Faraz was young and the tradition he was inspired by literary figures such as Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Kaifi Azmi, Majaz, Sahir Ludhianvi and many others.”

Asghar Nadeem Syed said Faraz’s mother tongue was Hindko, he was born in Kohat and his father used to write poetry in Persian. He said there were two leading poets who joined Khaksar Tehreek and they were Noon Meem Rashed and Ahmad Faraz. Faraz spent his early time in Peshawar, which was a cultural hub and seat of learning at that time with people like Dilip Kumar and the Kapoor family were from the city, he added.

After getting immense popularity as a young poet by reciting his ghazals at Radio Pakistan Peshawar, Faraz moved to Karachi and worked there as a radio producer. When he returned to Peshawar from Karachi, he was appointed the chairman of Pakistan Academy of Letters.

Syed said Faiz Ahmed Faiz always held Faraz in high esteem and supported him. He added that during Zia’s regime, when there was oppression, Faiz and Faraz were in exile and they used to stay at Zehra Nigah’s place in London.

Asghar Nadeem Syed held Razi Ahmed, the chairman board of governors of the Lahore Arts Council, in high esteem for starting these literary sittings. Mr Syed said that Alhamra had always been quite pivotal in projecting literary personalities from the world of literature.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2024