Information Minister Pervez Rashid, Dr Pirzada Qasim with the author Nawab Kaifee at the book launch. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Many people believe in the existence of miracles. But for Nawab Kaifee, miracles happen in verse.
Kaifee, a man of many hats who self-identifies as a journalist and runs a production company, introduced his first collection of poems “Yeh Mo’ajza hai” (It’s a miracle) at a local hotel on Wednesday.
The book’s title is derived from a poem of the same name that Kaifee penned for Pakistan’s first nuclear tests in 1998. The song was picked up by the Pakistan Television (PTV) as the anthem for Youm-e Takbeer, the national day to commemorate the nuclear tests.
Kaifee’s poetry collection was formally launched by Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage, Senator Pervez Rashid who was the chief guest.
The book consists of amateur poetry — poems written by Kaifee, 65, as a hobby over the years — that is filled with emotion but falls short of displaying poetic expertise. Nevertheless, guests appreciated the lack of pretense in Kaifee’s poems and ghazals and acknowledged his simple approach of commenting on current affairs in verse.
Minister Rashid made the audience laugh when he said he was attending the ceremony in his personal capacity because the last time he had appreciated a Kaifee poem in 1999 as the then-chairman of PTV, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government was toppled soon after.
He the book is also a “story of Pakistan’s political ebb and flow” but somehow overlooked the military dictatorships that have plagued Pakistan throughout its history.
Poet Amjad Islam Amjad said it appears Kaifee’s poems are his attempt to engage in a direct conversation with his audience and a reflection of his simple personality.
The spontaneity of verse impressed Pirzada Qasim, the Vice-Chancellor of Ziauddin University who flew in from Karachi to chair the ceremony.
Agha Nasir agreed with Khan and said Kaifee’s poems could be divided into three circles: Love for his mother, love for the country and love for a beloved.
Khan’s earlier comment that a good poet cannot be a good husband, elicited laughter from the audience and became a running joke through the evening, with several speakers, who followed Khan to the podium, teasing Kaifee in good humour for not being a good poet.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 26th, 2013.
COMMENTS (4)
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@Atif najam: hahah @ he the book!!!
I have been to many book launches but have never seen a hall so jam packed. The writer of this article is ill-informed. The poet is a seasoned senior journalist and a great poet. The comments quoted in the article are fabricated and all the chief guests sincerely appreciated Kaifis poetry which has raised the bar high for today's poets. Please have your facts right and report accurately and don't judge a book by its cover, read it first!
"He the book is also a story of Pakistan's political ebb and flow????? He??? Really??? Some one needs to teach the writer of this article some basic English, let alone writing a piece on Urdu poets and Urdu adab. Devoid of poetic expertise?? Surely an amateur ET contributor would know! LoL
Great book