Commemorative plaque of Iqbal unveiled at Shakespeare’s birthplace

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON: Pakistani music and cultural troupe mesmerised the onlookers, visitors and tourists here in the historic English town on the occasion of the birthday celebrations of great English playwright William Shakespeare.

This year’s celebrations are of paramount importance because the commemorative plaque of Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) was also unveiled here at the Shakespeare’s (1564-1616) birthplace by High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hassan. Classical artiste Zia Mohyuddin especially flew from Pakistan to attend the occasion to recite the poetry of Iqbal.

Inscribed with calligraphy of Urdu, Persian and English versions of Iqbal’s poem on Shakespeare, the plaque will be catching the attention of hundreds of worldwide visitors who, for almost 200 years, have been thronging the great playwrightís birthplace, which has the status of more than a shrine for Shakespeareís devotees, to pay homage to the universal message of his poetry. The artists, academics and literature students, from all cross the world, come to this place to perform and acquaint themselves with the soul of the playwright and his continuing legacy.

Addressing the unveiling ceremony, Wajid said the placing of an Iqbal memorial plaque in Stradford-Upon-Avon, where Shakespeare was born and rests in immortality, was homage to the strength of literature and arts, which indeed transcended borders and times. He said: “Living in times, almost three hundred years apart, I believe Shakespeare and Iqbal share the distinction to rise beyond the narrative and describe the innermost and the most profound aspects of the human nature.”