Unlike last year, the ‘Faiz Aman Mela’ saw people from different walks of life coming together to celebrate the progressive spirit that Faiz Ahmed Faiz fashioned. Not only was the festival a celebration of a deviant tradition that arose in the suffocating milieu of Faiz, but also of the universality of his message. Organised by the left, the event was held at the Baagh-e-Jinnah. The festival started with a mushaira by Dr Khalid Jaan followed by various revolutionary poets reciting their poems dedicating to the great artistic genius. The highlight of the mushaira was revolutionary poet Baba Najmi’s vigour, translated into a beautiful Punjabi poem called ‘Saada Haq naeen denday jerray’. A general ambiance of rebellion was created as he termed the mainstream political tradition as being in the hands of ‘political goons’. The second part of the festival comprised a musical tribute to Faiz Ahmed Faiz by the band Laal, Nida Faiz, Rabiah Shehzadi and other musicians that brought the crowd to life with their revolutionary songs. A minute of silence was observed for the 20 workers who died due to the factory collapse last week. A member of the Workers’ Party Pakistan, Hashim Bin Rashid, said it was heartening that the workers looked to Faiz’s poetry for the hope of emancipation and that the festival provided the left to express their sorrow at the unfortunate deaths of the workers.
Laal front-man and Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party, Taimur Rahman said while geniuses were cursed and ostracised in their lives, they were applauded when they died only if their contexts and perspectives were disregarded. He added that festivals such as these provided a platform for the left to acknowledge and spread Faiz’s true viewpoint.
