Pakistan’s national poet, Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s 137th birth anniversary was observed on November 9 all around the country to commemorate and honor his profound contributions for the wellbeing of his nation. An array of poetry recitation events, mushahiras and conferences were held to honor the great poet philosopher.
Amidst these, Faiz Foundation in collaboration with Alhamrah Arts Council paid homage to the “Shair-e-Mashriq” in the form of a musical night in which the verses of Iqbal’s “Shikva Jawab-e-Shiqva” were composed into a musical sung by Tina Sani in her melodious voice. The ceremony, hosted by Adeel Hashmi, was attended by Justice Javaid Iqbal, Dr. Arfa Syeda, Salima Hashmi and Moneeza Hashmi.
The night began off with a dramatic reading by Adeel Hashmi of the Urdu translation by Faiz Ahmad Faiz of selected Persian poems from Allama Iqbal’s “Payam-i-Mashriq”. Followed by the readings, bank Alfalah, the sponsor of the event, was presented with an audio of the collection by Salmia Hashmi. An honorary souvenir was also presented to Justice Javaid Iqbal.
Another highlight of the event was Dr. Arfa Syeda’s short talk which shed light upon the history and messages delivered in Iqbal’s philosophical poetry book “Payam-i-Mashriq”. She further talked about the diminishing importance of Urdu language amongst the young Pakistani generation adding that the nation is wandering off away from the purity of passion and compassion.
Soon after Dr. Arfa’s talk, Tina Sani’s stepped onto the stage to sing the verses of “Shikwa” while Adeel Hashmi joined her to recite the verses of “Jawab-e-Shikwa”. The resulting combination was enough to mesmerize the audience with a new and innovative portrayal of Iqbal’s philosophy. Along with, Iqbal’s poetry, Tina sang a couple of dialogues from Rumi’s philosophical writing whom she quoted as being Iqbal’s inspiration.
The event concluded by a standing ovation and applause for the beautiful portrayal of Iqbal’s poetry through Tina Sani’s melodious musical composition.