*Author terms Bano Qudsia his ‘mother’, thanked her for gracing the book launch
Participants were all praise for the newly published book ‘Pakistani Saqafat’ by Uxi Mufti during its launch on Wednesday at Alhamra, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The who-is-who of the Urdu literary scene and other notables attended the launch and praised the work which encompassed the culture debate in the Pakistani perspective. The panelists included Amjad Islam Amjad, Sultan Altaf, Bushra Ijaz and Kamran Lashari. Bano Qudsia was presiding the ceremony. The notables included Nayar Ali Dada, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Nadeem Tahir, Shaukat Ali amongst many others.
The chief guest of the ceremony Senator SM Zafar lauded the work and said the cultural roots are not traced back to the advent of Muhammad Bin Qasim but to the dervaishs who taught us tolerance above any other thing. No culture can flourish without tolerance, he said, adding that now sadly the culture is lacking tolerance and hence a majority of our problems.
Bano Qudsia, in her short address, lauded the life and works of the author and said she has already written about the author and wished him well in life.
The author termed Qudsia her mother and thanked her for her love and affection and for showing up on the occasion. He also said that there are various schools of thought and all right up to a certain extent and he has only attempted to present a synthesis. He said the ideology is our dream, our goal and we should never forget it.
Amjad Islam Amjad said the style of writing is intriguing and it is oral where the monologue has been divided into various parts. He said the gist of the book is in the chapter “Pakistan: a dream or reality”. He also read excerpts from the book and pointed out that Islam was not the base of our culture.
Kamran Lashari read out excerpts from Khalil Jibran and declared the author as the father of Pakistani culture. He also highlighted that the country was facing a cultural crisis and the book adds a new chapter in the long history.