‘Ayaz’s verses echo of resistance against tyrany’

Intellectuals, writers say iconic poet highlighted perils of vulnerable communities

HYDRABAD:

The seventh edition of annual Ayaz Melo or Ayaz Festival, dedicated to the poet of resistance and romance, Shaikh Ayaz, commenced at Khanabadosh Writers Cafe in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Ayaz (1923 to 1997) authored and translated over 50 books with revolution and romance as the dominant themes. He lays buried at a tomb alongside Karar Lake located near the shrine of Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai in Bhit Shah, Matiari district.

The event, which is primarily featuring literary sessions of panel discussions, poetic recitations and music, will continue for five days in the splendid lawn of the Sindh Museum.

The Sindh Culture Minister Syed Sardar Shah, who inaugurated the event, remembered Ayaz for symbolising an era of resistance poetry. He noted that the poet rose to prominence when the country was under authoritarian rule and the one unit system was imposed on all the provinces of the then West Pakistan.

"He witnessed the events like two-way migrations following the independence and his poetry sings the travails and ordeals of the victims of that migration and the one unit system."

Shah said Ayaz was well versed in philosophy, history, religions, science and some other subjects besides literature. He asked the youth to take guidance from his poetry and cultivate tolerance required for bearing with the criticism.

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Writer Taj Joyo from the festival's organising committee said the festival is arranged for the youth and for the people who love Sindh. He praised Ayaz for setting new trends in poetry which have left lasting effects on many generations.

The Sindh secretary culture Abdul Raheem Soomro observed that the annual festival, which is being organized since 2015, has become a regular part of Sindh's cultural activities. He announced that his department will publish all unpublished works of the poet.

"I consider Ayaz as a leading poet [of Sindh] of the 20 and 21 centuries," asserted Dr Harish Khaliq, reading his essay. He said freedom and natural environment meant a lot to the late poet.

He dwelt at length over the issues of poverty and climate degradation which are particularly affecting the low income groups of the people. Khaliq believed that the thought and poetry of Ayaz and Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai can provide guidance to the people to cope with the prevailing problems.

The writer and historian Sehar Imdad said she finds books of Ayaz as her loyal companions. "Ayaz used to sleep while reading. We often found him lost in books," she reminisced about her visits to the poet's residence in Karachi.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2021.