The poet who loves Lahore for a special reason

Aadmi hosh mein naheen rehta Yaar kia cheez hai mohabbat bhi Dr Fakhar Abbas's ‘Yeh jo Lahore se mohabbat hai’ is a collection of poetry that rotates around that subject matter we are all on familiar terms with, when it comes to almost every poet and when it comes to life in general i.e. Love:

Chahay baad mein saabat ho bhi jayay jhoot

Hota hai jab ishq tu satch hota hai

Fakhar’s poems are not the commonplace and rhyming sort that make us recoil silently. These are the gems of genuine associations, the commencement and steady development of them, a blend of feelings that make up the bits and pieces of life:

Os ko ehsaas hee naheen shaayad

Kis qadar khud woh khoobsurat hai

Hum donoun aik shehr mein rehnay kay baawajood

Kitnay hain aik doosray se bekhabar rahay

If you are undergoing an experience of a kind of love drought, this book will bring you back the feelings you once had. Fakhar Abbas is able to inject in us a very helpful dosage of youth elixir that some of us want from time to time:

Thaama tha agar haath tu phir choom hee laita

Aay kaash yeh laghzish bhi gunahgaar se hoti

Marmareen haath lay kay aayay hain

Phool bhi choom kar leeyay jayain

Fakhar’s selection of words is descriptive, however, at times not so poetic; but still has the aura of a perfect poetic rhythm:

Mera dil bhi bahar chala aa raha hai

Faqat aansuoun ki yeh hijrat naheen hai

Janay yeh kis jaga pe rehtay hain

Ashk jab aankh mein naheen hotay

When you think of Lahore several things traverse your mind, history, art, literature, architecture, politics and, last but not least, love. Capital of the Punjab province, Lahore exudes passion around every corner, and this the only reason why it is loved by many, but Fakhar Abbas loves Lahore for a different reason:

Yeh jo Lahore se mohabbat hai

Yeh kisi aur se mohabbat hai

Main na bun paaya tera, par tuu tu ho ja aur ki

Mut akalay reh faza achi naheen Lahore ki

Tum jo Lahore ab naheen aatay

Dil kaheen aur lug gaya hai kia

Shehray Lahore bhi hai rishta aik

Aap se aur bhi hai rishta aik

Tum ko Lahore se rukhsat hai magar yaar meray

Ghar kisi roze tu aao gay yahan hotay huyay

As a poet, Fakhar is fond of themes that touch the heart and stir the soul. His verses handle real life. How unassumingly he says:

Kaam bus itna kar laita houn

Misraa seedah kar laita houn

Itna sa bus shaer houn main

Tera charcha kar laita houn