Rich tribute paid to late Prof Taha Khan

PESHAWAR:  A noted Urdu poet, writer, educationist and scholar, late Professor Taha Khan, was remembered at a literary reference arranged at the Iranian Cultural Centre here.

The speakers threw light on the life and contribution of the late man of letters, who contributed not only towards Urdu but also Pashto and Hindko languages and literature. They paid tributes to Taha Khan, terming him a man of many facets who excelled in all genres of the poetry but earned a name in the comic poetry.

A noted Urdu and Hindko writer and poet Prof Dr Nazeer Tabassum, presided over the function.He recalled the days of his close association with Taha Khan and said they used to hold literary sessions along with other colleagues like late Raza Hamdani, Farigh Bukhari, Mohsin Ihsan, Ahmad Faraz and Sajjad Babar.

Dr Nazeer Tabassum said he would exchange pleasantries with Taha Khan who was very witty person. “He used to recall his student life and his class fellows like internationally known poet Ahmad Faraz and Professor Dr Elahi Bakhsh Awan, a great scholar of the Hindko language from the University of London, with whom he used to hold comic Qawali sessions at the Urdu Department.

In his address as chief guest Khalid Rauf, a Canada-based Pakistani engineer, who designed the Peshawar-Islamabad Section of Motorway, said he was proud to be a student of Taha Khan at Saint Mary’s High School and Edwardes College, Peshawar. He was an ideal teacher and man of principles, he stated.

Noted Pashto poet Prof Abaseen Yousufazi said he listened to Taha Khan for the first time in 1985 at a function in the University of Peshawar and then after some years he used to sit with him and other literati at the Silver Star and Khyber Café in Peshawar Saddar. He said the association developed to the extent of discussing and translating the poetry of great mystic Pashto poet Rahman Baba.

“When Prof Taha Khan started translating Rahman Baba’s poetry into Urdu, he happily accepted any changes or correction that I suggested. My close association with him can be judged from the fact that he chose me for accompanying him to the Governor’s House when he was decorated with Pride of performance Award,” said the noted Pashto writer and poet. 

Director General of the Iranian Culture Center in Peshawar, Ali Yousefi, paid tributes to Taha Khan. He said the late literatus had close association with Khana-e-Farhang.

“That is why when the Iranian Cultural Centre started a programme on the noted people related to literature titled ‘Yaad-e-Raftagan’, Yousuf Raza Chishti and Prof Taha Khan were chosen for the first such function. He quoted a verse from Sheikh Saadi that “Those who earn a name in the society never die and remain alive in the heart of people.”

Prof Shakeel Niaz said born in Lucknow, Taha Khan served literature in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and earned love and respect from the local people. A senior TV producer Aziz Ijaz said the PTV Peshawar Centre won awards on poems, songs or the scripts written by Taha Khan.

Hasam Hur, Nishat Sarhadi, Prof Sattar Lawaghari, Sajjad Babar, Owais Qarni, Prof Sabeeh Ahmad, Rani Bano, Dr Shahida Sardar, Arshad Hussain Malik, Zegham Hussain, Aftab Gill, Younis Sabir, senior psychiatrist Dr Shafiq and resident Director Pakistan Academy of Letter Said Wali Khyal Mohmand also paid tributes to late Prof Taha Khan at the literary reference which lasted for more than four hours.