Several eminent poets and writers of the country, accompanied by a large number of literature lovers in the twin cities attended the one-day ‘Parveen Shakir Urdu Literature Festival’.
The Parveen Shakir Trust (PST) arranged the festival at a local hotel on Tuesday. Attendees listened to their favourite poets and writers and attended a number of debates on different literary subjects.
The event featured stars from the literary space, including Amjad Islam Amjad, Asghar Nadeem Sayyid, Mustansar Hussain Tarar, Prof Fateh Muhammad Malik, Dr Tahira Iqbal, Dr Najeeba Arif, Asim Butt, Mehboob Zafar, and many others.
A number of awards, along with a cash prize of Rs850,000 were also announced and given on the occasion.
Read In memory: Parveen Shakir lives on
One important highlight of the event was the arrival of the Turkish scholar and writer Dr Davut Sahbaz all the way from Turkey to Islamabad to receive his ‘Nayyir Adabi Award.’ He was also given Rs100,000 for his book on Mazharul Islam.
During the opening ceremony the PST Chairperson Parveen Qadir Agha expressed her pleasure about the work done so far by the trust. The trust that was set in memory of the late poet Parveen Shakir to promote and preserve her literary works, and to take care of her son, had now become a well-established forum for patronising and supporting the emerging writers and poets, she added.
“On the occasion, ‘Husn-e-Funn Award,’ that amounts to Rs100,000 in cash, was given to Amjad for his lifetime work in the different genres of literature.
‘Mian Atta Rabbani Sada Bahaar Award,’ (Rs100,000) was given to Mustansar Hussain Tarar for his novel ‘Khas-o-Khashak-e-Zamanay.’ Meanwhile the ‘Nayyir Adbi Award’ (Rs100,000) was given to the Turkish writer Dr Davut Sahbaz. The ‘Younas Sethi Wafa Award’ (Rs50,000) was given to Asghar Nadeem Sayyid for his novel ‘Tooti Hui Tanab,’ while the “Sheikh Abdul Qadir Award” (Rs50,000) was given to Shaheen Abbas for his book ‘Galyon Galyon.’
The ‘Sultan Mehmood Qazi Award’ (Rs 50,000) was given to story writer Tahira Iqbal for her book ‘Giraan,’ while the ‘Begum Sarfaraz Iqbal Award’ (Rs50,000) was given to Dr Shahida Sarfaraz for her book of short stories ‘Karb-e-Zeest’ for 2019, and to Dr Muhammad Amin for his book ‘Loh-e-Mustoor’ for 2020.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 29th, 2021.
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