Heart-warming, soul lifting performance by Zia Mohyeddin

Islamabad: The spell of Zia Mohyeddin’s deep voice and eloquence once again mesmerised the audiences from all age groups and walks of life as he performed at a fund raising event organised at Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA).

Even those who do not follow the Urdu literature were entranced by his way of juggling with the work of great poets and writers. “It was an epic performance- heart-warming and soul lifting,” said Saadia Refaqat, an economist.

The tantalizing evening ‘Sham-e-Zauq-Zia Mohyeddin Kay Sath’ was hosted by Rozan, a non-government, non-profit organization working on issues of emotional health of women, children youth and men to create a self-aware, gender just society that celebrates diversity and is free of violence since 1998.

The event was attended by eminent scholars, writers, poets, showbiz personalities like Kishwar Naheed, Naeem Bukhari, Jamal Shah, Arshad Mahmood and Azra Mohyeddin. The evening was enjoyed by an audience of over 400 including prominent leads of corporate and development sector, academia and students. Zia Mohyeddin, a legend in his lifetime, is a man of many parts. His long career spans acting, directing, writing, broadcasting and a wide range of aesthetic disciplines. He is the founder of Reader’s Theatre in Pakistan. He engaged the audience by narrating select material from Urdu and English Literature. “He actually gives life to the words of legendry writers and poets,” said Naveed Aslam, a student. Dr. Ambreen founder member of Rozan briefed the audience about Rozan’s work. She shared that the overall purpose of the event was to raise funds to support the ‘Aangan’ programme. ‘Aangan’ was the first initiative of its kind to generate debate on the issue of violence against children with focus on child sexual abuse in Pakistan. It focuses on building life skills and knowledge about child protection of all key stakeholders who work directly or indirectly with children.

She shared that the donations will be used to enhance emotional well-being of children by providing children, their families and the communities support, information, skills and tools needed to foster their potential and reclaim their rights. ‘Aangan’ will build capacities of key stakeholders like teachers, parents, and community volunteers on child protection issues. At the end she thanked all the sponsors, friends and the audience for their generous supports.