Zia Mohyeddin’s tribute to the people’s poet

karachi: A packed Zia Mohyeddin Theatre at the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) was on Wednesday evening the venue of a befitting tribute to the people’s poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, a poet who crusaded for social justice, egalitarianism, always spoke up against the exploitation of the have-nots by the haves, raised his voice against the foisting of capitalist policies which were detrimental to none other than the toiling masses of the country, and who was, in fact, a perfect socialist.

What made the function all the more noteworthy was Zia’s impeccable command over both English and Urdu, coupled with his adept theatrical presentation of the poet’s verse. These verses are absolute pieces of literature.

The presentation was based on the letters Faiz wrote his wife Alys while he was incarcerated on a charge of being a communist. These verses depicted the highly philosophic nature Faiz had.

It was so engrossing that the auditorium, which was packed to capacity, had the audiences riveted to their seats, listening with rapt attention to Zia’s masterly recitation for the ninety minutes the programme lasted.

In the verse, Faiz describes the unbearable conditions of the jail and the behaviour of the jail staff. He also cites the episode of a hawk, something that would otherwise go absolutely unmentioned. It turns out that the hawk has suffered a fractured leg.

The recitation also comprised some very philosophic and poetic expressions, like, for instance, “the frighteningly eternal reality of death”.

The programme was also marked by some very profound musical interludes. For instance, there were three vocal numbers by Sajar Nafees, with Ustad Nafees Khan on the Sitar, Mehboob Ashraf on the harmonium, and Waqas on the Tabla. Then there were two vocal numbers by Ustad Nafees Khan, anda vocal number by Nigel Bobby.

It was highly encouraging to see the erstwhile importance of the egalitarian philosophy once again emerging after almost a decade of oblivion because of the receding into the background of the doctrine Faiz espoused because of the global ideological confusion that gripped the world with the end of the USSR.