Remembering the legendary Faraz

Admirers reminisce about the man and his poetry.

ISLAMABAD:

The rainstorm preceding Saturday morning set a melancholic atmosphere in the H-8 Graveyard where friends, family and admirers of Ahmed Faraz had gathered to show their respect on the poet’s fourth death anniversary.

Faraz was a legendry poet who remained committed to progressive ideals and spoke against dictatorship, obscurantism and hypocrisy and was victimised for his poems against Ziaul Haq and other dictators. Media buzz aside, the group of about 50 attendees reminisced about the late poet’s great accomplishments and contributions.

Faraz’s sons, Saadi and Shibli, shared with The Express Tribune that their father led by example and rather than handicapping his children with adoration, he instilled in them independence and principles. The sons also spoke about Faraz’s unflinching dedication to freedom of speech and democracy in the face of all odds.

“Though he faced backlash when he spoke against military dictatorships, he never backed down because his voice wasn’t just his own, but it was the voice of the people and he was aware of that responsibility,” said Saadi.

Friend and fellow poet Mehboob Zafar said Faraz transcended the image of a poet as a dreamer. He was grounded in reality and engaged in fighting for a better world. “He would always be arranging meetings and bringing people together for progressive change,” added Zafar.

Another friend and fellow poet, Maqsood Jafri reminisced that Faraz was removed from the post of managing director of National Book Foundation for criticising Gen. Musharraf’s regime, just as he had suffered during previous dictatorships. He said Faraz was unique as he was always true to the traditional poetic style even though he was very contemporary otherwise.

“Apart from Faiz Ahmed Faiz, his lyricism is unmatched. I can say with great regret that Pakistan will never produce a poet like Faraz again,” added Jafri.

Echoing similar sentiments, Muhammad Zafar, a family friend, said, “It is highly unlikely that a poet like Faraz will emerge from the new generation, not only because of his unparallelled talent, sophistication and dedication, but also because the new generation is drifting away from literature particularly the mother tongue variety.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th, 2012.