BY HAMZA REHMAN
LAHORE: The ninth death anniversary of renowned Urdu poet Ahmed Faraz was observed on Friday.
Faraz, who has been compared with Faiz Ahmed Faiz, holds a unique position as one of the best poets of the current times with a fine, but simple, style of writing that common people understand easily. He has been much popular, particularly among the young generation, for his romantic poetry. Ethnically a Hindko speaking Pashtun, he studied Persian and Urdu at the Peshawar University and later joined it as a lecturer.
Atta Ul Haq Qasmi, while talking to Pakistan Today, said that he feels proud that Faraz was not only his very good friend, they also had a pleasure of travelling together many times. “The conception about him that his only strength was romantic poetry is wrong, he also superlatively contributed as a revolutionist poet,” he added.
Qasmi also said that his [Ahmed Faraz’s] intellectual level was very distinguished and that he was blunt, outspoken and very touchy about the issue of occupied Kashmir, adding that he took part in raising the voice in United Nations (UN) for Kashmir.
“Faraz was the only one of his type,” he said.
Another renowned poet Amjad Islam Amjad talking about Faraz said, “He was not only the choice of youngsters but people who followed him in their young age followed him in their old age too, which distinguishes him from the other most popular poets.” He added that Faraz was a guru of his language and maestro of his genre.
Famous poet Wasi Shah said, “Faraz Sahab was one of those poets who gained popularity among the common people as well as among the masters of poetry and writers, which is rare.” He went on to add that his crafting was tremendous and the genre of romantic poetry will always miss him saying ‘kay phir koi Faraz aye or kuch wesa likhay’.
Born in Kohat in January 1931, Faraz was considered one of the greatest modern Urdu poets of the last century. Faraz was his ‘pseudonym’ (takhallus), whereas his real name was ‘Syed Ahmad Shah’.
He stayed in Britain, Canada and Europe for 6 years before returning to Pakistan, where he was initially appointed Academy of Letters Chairman and later as the chairperson of the Islamabad-based National Book Foundation for several years.
Outspoken about politics, he went into self-exile during the era of Zia-ul-Haq after he was arrested for reciting certain poems at a ‘mushaira’ criticising the military rule.
He has been awarded numerous national and international awards. In 2004, he was awarded Hilal-e-Imtiaz in recognition of his literary achievements. He returned the award in 2006 after becoming disenchanted with Musharraf’s government and its policies.
He died in Islamabad on August 25, 2008, due to kidney failure.