Teachers Literature Festival: ‘Tackling society’s problems through introspection’

The humanistic message calls for respect, dignity of people irrespective of social status.

ISLAMABAD:

Beyond her worldly struggle for human rights, the rebel feminist poet Fehmida Riaz discovered that the problems of society could be tackled by looking within through self-reflection and introspection.

While traversing the path of ‘contemporary-mysticism’, which connects the teachings of the mystic wisdom from 800 years back, to today’s world, Riaz re-rendered some of the poetry to cater to a young audience at the first-ever Teachers’ Literature Festival (TLF) held at the Federal College of Education, Sector H-9 on Thursday.

Riaz has written poetry in both English and Urdu languages and translated select verses from the collection of the 13th century Persian poet Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, two of her translated books titled, “The Simurgh and the birds - a selection from Manti-ut-Tayr by Shaikh Fariddudin Attar” and “Our Shaikh Sa’di - a selection from Gulistan and Bustan” were published by the Oxford University Press (OUP) and put on display at the festival.

Poet and social activist Harris Khalique elaborated the concept of the inward and the outward journey, saying that the mystic tradition prefers universal human values over rituals. The universal humanistic message, he said, calls for respect, dignity and compassion irrespective of social status, power or prestige.

The Simgurh, he explained, is a mythical bird from paradise. Reading out a verse from the book, “The Woodpecker,” he rendered at the simplicity of emotion and the directness, which he maintained, capture the heart and soul.

“To the Prophet Solomon, you brought the eternal word, What a lovely crown adorns your tiny head!” he recited. “The interesting message here is that humanity has to learn from nature. King Solomon shared the wisdom of the word and God wants the prophet to learn from his creation.”

Similarly, Sadi’s works were versified parables, which were woven around lessons learnt from “powers that be” including monarchs, rulers, governors and so on and connect the mundane life with the universal truth.  The parables, he said, celebrate individuality and diversity rather than individualism or chauvinism.

Khallique underscored that Sadi’s “Gulistan and Bustan” had been a part of academic curriculum till the curriculum was rehashed under oppressive regimes. He said, however, it was a noble effort on Riaz’s part to reintroduce it to the young audiences not only in the South Asia but the world over.

Meanwhile, another book titled “Just like the other kids” was launched in collaboration with the World Bank at the venue. Former education minister Zubaida Jalal addressed the session.

“The objective and intention of the book is to mainstream schoolchildren with mental or physical challenges and how do we go about that,” Jalal noted.

Through stories written by differently-abled children in primary school, the book sensitises the reader on how the children feel and perceive the world around them and how they want to be understood and appreciated for who they were.

Speaking about inclusive education system, Jalal said while there is lack of an infrastructure to cater to such children, facilitation and capacity building of the teachers can play a large role to change the situation on ground. She underscored the need for effective policymaking and lawmaking in this regard. “About two per cent of the school-going population has disabilities,” she said.

Furthermore, the book provides an alternate view to disability which was normally considered a taboo in society and makes a point of accommodating special persons into its fold to move towards progress.

Coordinated by the OUP in collaboration with the Idara-e-Taleem-o-Agahi, the three-day event includes  Children’s Literature Festival, showcasing featuring interactive sessions and activities including talks, interviews, discussions, workshops, book fair, puppet show, competitions and food stalls.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2014.