Rich tribute paid to poet Saeen Ahmad Ali

PESHAWAR: Speakers paid rich tributes to great Hindko language mystic poet Saeen Ahmad Ali and called for highlighting his poetry at the national level.

They were addressing a function arranged by the Gandhara Hindko Board at the Gandhara Hindko Academy to mark the 81st death anniversary of the sufi poet.

An expert on the mystic poetry and former director general of the Press Information Department, Iqbal Sikandar, was the chief guest on the occasion.

Social figure, Muhammad Rafee, presided over the programme hosted at the Saeen Ahmad Ali Hall of the academy.

Some among those present were a noted Hindko language writer, poet and research scholar, Muhammad Ziauddin, columnist and business community representative, Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, broadcaster Ahmad Nadeem Awan, Muhammad Nasir Hussain, and Sikandar Hayat Sikandar.

The speakers shed light on the life and work of Saeen Ahmad Ali who was born in the walled city of Peshawar in 1842 AD and died in 1937AD. His final resting place is located outside Kohati Gate.

Muhammad Ziauddin said Saeen Ahmad Ali enjoyed a high standing in the sufi poetry. He said the poetry of Saeen Baba encompassed human values and all those who believed in humanity could benefit from his poetic verses for reformation.

Ziauddin, who is also Chief of Executive Committee of the Gandhara Hindko Academy and has authored a book on Saeen Baba apart from overseeing other publications on him, said the poetry of the Hindko language mystic remains relevant to all times due to the subject it covers.

The literatus said most of the work of the Hindko language classic poets, including sufis, reached us through the oral traditions.

“This is the case with Saeen Ahmad Ali poetry as well. His poetic verses were numerous but a portion was bequeathed to us through our elders who had learnt it by heart,” he pointed out.

Ziauddin said when the Gandhara Hindko Board was launched in 1993, a need was realized to collect and publish the work of Saeen Ahmad Ali as mystic poetry is a must for the promotion of literature and culture associated with any language.

“The board did the needful by bringing in print the books which had the poetry of Saeen Baba along with giving information on his life,” he elaborated, adding the poetry was also translated into Urdu and Pashto languages to take the message to a wider audience and bring the speakers of different languages closer.

Other participants said Saeen Ahmad Ali portrayed the human feelings through words, metaphors and allegories. They said the government should make arrangement to highlight the mystic poetry of Saeen Baba at the national level.

The chief guest, Iqbal Sikandar, said Saeen Ahmad Ali had a distinct position in the Hindko literature.

“Saeen Baba has covered various aspects of mysticism in his poetry. This proves his exceptionality,” he went on to add as he talked of the poetry of the great mystic from Peshawar who has sufficient following in Potohar region as well.

The audience gave full appreciation when Ahmad Nadeem Awan and Zeeshan Ghaznavi rendered poetry of Saeen Ahmad Ali at the end of the event.